Summer Reading: Philosophy, Art, and Memory in New Italian Publications

A roundup of recent Italian art books reviewed by Marco Enrico Giacomelli on Artribune. Elisabetta Orsini's 'Atelier' takes a philosophical, quasi-Kantian approach to the studio space, closing with a divertissement on Descartes. Paul Valéry's 'Degas Danza Disegno' (Abscondita) explores Degas through language and metaphor. Marco Scotini and Elisabetta Galasso compile conference cycles from NABA Milan into 'Politiche della memoria' (DeriveApprodi), focusing on documentary and archive perspectives. Alessandra Troncone's 'La smaterializzazione dell’arte in Italia' (Postmedia) argues for art's dematerialization in Italy from 1967 to 1973. 'Tra memoria e oblio' (Castelvecchi) collects essays on contemporary art conservation, debating the role of artist intent. Raffaele Quattrone's 'In itinere' (Equipèco) updates Arnold Hauser's sociology of art for the contemporary system. Jacques Derrida's collected essays on aesthetics and the visual are published as 'Penser à ne pas voir' (Éd. de la Différence). Adachiara Zevi's 'Monumenti per difetto' (Donzelli) surveys unmonumental monuments from the Fosse Ardeatine Mausoleum to Gunter Demnig's Stolpersteine.