Eight books explore the link between art and the body

A roundup of eight recent Italian publications examines the relationship between art and the body, covering topics from Futurism and performance to tableaux vivants and earthquake photography. Roberto Floreani's book on Umberto Boccioni traces the Futurist's 'arte-vita' concept, a precursor to later art-life hybrids. Alessandro Cutrona analyzes mise en abyme in works by Peter Greenaway and Charlie Kaufman. Ágnes Heller's 'La dignità dell'opera d'arte' offers an atypical critical perspective on art's dignity. Vincenzo Santoro documents Eugenio Barba's Odin Teatret residencies in Salento and Sardinia (1973–1975) in a book+DVD. Flaminio Gualdoni surveys tableaux vivants from Saint Francis to Bill Viola. Alberto Moravia's collected art writings explore ekphrasis. 'Sequenza Sismica' presents a photographic mission by Fondazione Fotografia Modena on Italy's earthquakes (L'Aquila, Emilia, Central Italy, 2012–2016). Cristiano Berti recounts the true story of Giuseppe Gaggini, an artist caught between the Alps and Havana from 1834 to 1836, involving art, politics, colonialism, and bureaucracy. The article was published in Artribune Magazine #41 by Marco Enrico Giacomelli.