Gruppo 70's Semiological Guerrilla Warfare Gains Late Recognition

The Italian art collective Gruppo 70 is finally receiving overdue acknowledgment for its contributions to culture and understanding of Western society in the second half of the 20th century. Evidence includes the publication by Mimesis, edited by Teresa Nocita, of the complete literary writings of Lamberto Pignotti, who is approaching his 100th birthday; the acquisition of his archive by the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze; and a substantial issue of the journal Riga, edited by Raffaella Perna, focusing on the militant and intellectual quality of the group. The belated recognition contrasts with the earlier acclaim of the contemporary Gruppo 63, but arrives at a time of renewed transformation in the relationship between humans and technology. Gruppo 70 was not merely an experiment in syncretic exchanges between words and images but a sustained semiological guerrilla warfare against mass media and consumer society.