Six New Art and Culture Books: From Chernobyl to Artist Breakfasts
A roundup of six recently published books in Italy covers diverse topics: a philosophical dialogue on Chernobyl's botanical aftermath, a special hardcover edition of the independent fiction magazine 'tina, a lavishly illustrated new edition of Treasure Island, the legal battle over a medieval Maimonides manuscript, a defense of ornament in design history, and a cookbook of artists' breakfasts from Giotto to Marina Abramović.
Key facts
- Chernobyl Herbarium by Michael Marder and Anaïs Tondeur (Mimesis, 2021) marks the 35th anniversary of the disaster.
- Marder was in Rostov-on-Don on April 26, 1986, prescribed to escape Moscow's pollution, heading toward the catastrophe.
- Tondeur used the ancient contact photography technique (photogram) to image plants grown in the Chernobyl exclusion zone by Martin Hajduch.
- 'tina #36 (Storielibere, 2021) is a hardcover book collecting 11+1 short stories, curated by Matteo B. Bianchi.
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Étienne Friess, is published by Rizzoli (2021) with updated language for younger readers.
- Il codice Maimonide by Gino Famiglietti and Micaela Procaccia (Castelvecchi, 2021) recounts the 2013 dispute over a medieval manuscript of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed.
- US collector Jay Schottenstein offered $1.9 million for the manuscript; it remained in Italy after Ministry intervention.
- Colazioni d'artista by Valeria Arnaldi (Ultra, 2021) includes a recipe inspired by David Datuna, who ate Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian banana at Art Basel 2019.
Entities
Artists
- Michael Marder
- Anaïs Tondeur
- Guido van Helten
- Igor Kostin
- Craig Mazin
- Svetlana Aleksievič
- Martin Hajduch
- Matteo B. Bianchi
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Étienne Friess
- Gino Famiglietti
- Micaela Procaccia
- Tomaso Montanari
- Jay Schottenstein
- Enrico Maria Davoli
- Adolf Loos
- Vitruvio
- Valérie Jaudon
- Sebastiano Serlio
- Gillo Dorfles
- Valeria Arnaldi
- Giotto
- Marina Abramović
- David Datuna
- Maurizio Cattelan
- Mosè Maimonide
- Emanuele Coccia
- Ildegarda di Bingen
Institutions
- Mimesis
- Storielibere.fm
- Frab's Magazine
- Rizzoli
- Castelvecchi
- CLEUP
- Ultra
- Phaidon
- Art Basel
- MiBACT
- Accademia di Brera
- Università basca di Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Istituto di genetica vegetale e biotecnologia dell'Accademia slovacca delle Scienze
- Artribune
Locations
- Chernobyl
- Italy
- Milan
- Rostov sul Don
- Russia
- Moscow
- Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Spain
- Padua
- Rome