Elisabetta Modena's 'Display' explores the concept of display in art and digital life

Elisabetta Modena, professor of contemporary art history at IULM in Milan, has published a new book titled 'Display' (Einaudi). The book examines the concept of display in its multiple meanings, from exhibition design to digital screens. Modena organizes the volume into three sections: 'places' (atelier, gallery, museum, street, archive), 'devices' (frame, pedestal, vitrine, screen, caption), and 'gestures' (installing, curating, illuminating, visualizing, exposing). Each chapter begins with an emblematic case study. The book highlights artists who have critically engaged with display, especially from the 1960s onward, including Marcel Broodthaers, Hans Haacke, Michael Asher, Daniel Buren, Andrea Fraser, Fred Wilson, Alberto Garutti, Cesare Pietroiusti, Riccardo Benassi, Emilio Vavarella, Anna Franceschini, and Mark Dion (whose work appears on the cover). Modena's research stems from her doctoral work and 15 years of teaching experience in Italian universities. The interview was conducted by Annalisa Trasatti.