Giovanni Muciaccia's 'Attacchi d'arte contemporanea' Makes Contemporary Art Accessible

Giovanni Muciaccia, known for hosting the children's art show Art Attack, has published his first book, Attacchi d'arte contemporanea (Rizzoli, 2021). The 288-page volume aims to bridge the gap between the public and contemporary art, covering movements from conceptual art to appropriation art. Muciaccia includes QR codes linking to videos and interactive exercises, such as a chapter on relational art where the reader and book become an artwork. He draws parallels between abstract artists like Piet Mondrian, Max Bill, Heinz Mack, Grazia Varisco, and Enrico Castellani and cymatic images (sound-generated geometries), noting that cymatics was discovered in 1767 but forgotten until 1967. He cites Professor Carlo Ventura of the University of Bologna's molecular biology faculty, who discovered that cells communicate through vibrations—a theory Muciaccia believes artists anticipated. The book targets both neophytes and experts, with two narrative levels. Muciaccia expresses admiration for Futurism, especially Tullio Crali's aeropainting, and names Mario Radice, Manlio Rho, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Damien Hirst, and Banksy as artists he would collect. His favorite museums include the Galleria Nazionale di Roma, Museo del Novecento, and Mudec in Milan.