Roberto Pinto's 'Artisti di carta' Explores Fictional Artists in Literature

Roberto Pinto's new book 'Artisti di carta. Territori di confine tra arte e letteratura' (Postmedia Books, 2016) examines the intersection of contemporary art and literature, focusing on novels that feature fictional artists and artworks. Pinto adopts the concept of 'notional ekphrasis,' where writers invent artists and works that do not exist in the real art world. The book analyzes how figures like Don DeLillo, Sophie Calle, Paul Auster, Enrique Vila-Matas, Siri Hustvedt, and Orhan Pamuk create artist-characters, blurring the line between artistic project and literary work. DeLillo's novels—from 'Americana' (1971/1989) to 'Body Art' (2001)—are central, with characters such as sculptor Sullivan, Brita Nilsson, Klara Sax, and Lauren Hartke. The study also explores collaborations between Sophie Calle and writers Auster and Vila-Matas, as well as the works of Hustvedt and Pamuk. Pinto's research aims to reveal how contemporary art is perceived by the literary world, offering insights that historical art studies may overlook.