Giada Cipollone's 'Corpi a fuoco' Explores Performance, Photography, and Feminism in 1970s Italy

Giada Cipollone's new book 'Corpi a fuoco' (Marsilio, 2024, 176 pp., €17) examines the intersection of photography, performance, and feminist politics in 1970s Italy. The volume is divided into two parts: the first analyzes the relationship between photography and performance, introducing concepts like 'performativity of the image' to argue that photography is not merely a passive document but an active creative and political act. The second part focuses on lesser-known Italian artists such as Lucia Poli, Marcella Campagnano, Agnese De Donato, and Lina Mangiacapre, reconstructing their biographies and practices through archival research and interviews. Cipollone highlights how these women challenged gender roles and created new spaces of visibility and agency. Central to the book is the notion of the 'insurgent body' and performativity as a political strategy. The research originated from the ERC project 'INCOMMON' at Università Iuav di Venezia, directed by Annalisa Sacchi, where Cipollone is a researcher. She emphasizes that photography served not just as a tool for documenting theater but as a common ground for artistic and political encounter. Many of the artists prioritized collective experimentation over producing marketable works, often refusing professional labels. The book includes unpublished archival materials and images.