7 Books Connecting Viruses and Art: A Survey from Bioart to Pandemics
Marco Enrico Giacomelli reviews seven books that explore intersections between viruses, disease, and art. Stephen Wilson's 'Information Arts' (MIT Press, 2002) surveys art-science intersections with a biology chapter. 'Dalla Land Art alla Bioarte' (Hopefulmonster, 2008) collects conference proceedings from 2007 with participants Nicolas Bourriaud, Piero Gilardi, Jens Hauser, and others. Corrado Lavini's 'Medicina ed arti figurative' (Athena, 2009) examines infectious pathology in art. Jonathan J. Moore's 'Malattie terribili e atroci cure' (Logos, 2020) covers virus history with medical and artistic documentation. 'La biologia vegetale per i beni culturali' (Nardini, 2005) addresses microorganisms that damage artworks. Ilaria Palomba's 'Homo homini virus' (Meridiano Zero, 2015) is a performative-musical novel. Francesca Alfano Miglietti's magazine 'Virus (mutations)' (1994-2001) is anthologized in 'Virus Art' (Skira, 2003). The article appeared in Artribune Magazine #54.
Key facts
- Stephen Wilson's 'Information Arts' published by MIT Press in 2002, 945 pages.
- 'Dalla Land Art alla Bioarte' published by Hopefulmonster, Torino in 2008, 386 pages.
- Conference for 'Dalla Land Art alla Bioarte' held on January 20, 2007.
- Corrado Lavini's 'Medicina ed arti figurative' published by Athena, Napoli in 2009, 273 pages.
- Jonathan J. Moore's 'Malattie terribili e atroci cure' published by Logos, Milano in 2020, 256 pages.
- 'La biologia vegetale per i beni culturali' published by Nardini, Firenze in 2005/2007, two volumes.
- Ilaria Palomba's 'Homo homini virus' published by Meridiano Zero, Padova in 2015, 308 pages.
- Francesca Alfano Miglietti directed 'Virus (mutations)' magazine from 1994 to 2001.
Entities
Artists
- Stephen Wilson
- Piero Gilardi
- Nicolas Bourriaud
- Pier Luigi Capucci
- Vittorio Fagone
- Jens Hauser
- Roberto Marchesini
- Lorenzo Taiuti
- Franco Torriani
- Jean-Max Albert
- Louis Bec
- Alfio Bonanno
- Andrea Caretto
- Raffaella Spagna
- François Curlet
- Claude Faure
- Corrado Lavini
- Jonathan J. Moore
- Ilaria Palomba
- Franko B.
- Francesca Alfano Miglietti
- Marco Enrico Giacomelli
Institutions
- San Francisco State University
- MIT Press
- Hopefulmonster
- PAV (Parco Arte Vivente)
- Athena
- Logos
- Nardini
- Meridiano Zero
- Skira
- Artribune
Locations
- Cambridge (Mass.)
- Torino
- Napoli
- Milano
- Modena
- Firenze
- Padova