Modernitalia provides a map of the Italian twentieth century in the form of twelve essays by the celebrated cultural historian Jeffrey T. Schnapp. Shuttling back and forth between literature, architecture, design, and the visual arts, the volume explores the metaphysics of speed, futurist and dada typography, real and imaginary forms of architecture, shifting regimes of mass spectacle, the iconography of labour, exhibitions as modes of public mobilization and persuasion, and the emergence of industrial models of literary culture and communication. The figures featured in the book include Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Mario Morasso, Julius Evola, Piero Portaluppi, Giuseppe Terragni, Alessandro Blasetti, Massimo Bontempelli, Giorgio de Chirico, Bruno Munari, Curzio Malaparte, and Henry Furst. Alongside these human protagonists appear granite blocks that drive the design of modern monuments, military searchlights that animate civilian shows, worker armies viewed as machines, sunglasses that tiptoe along the boundary of the private and public, newsreels as twentieth-century interpretations of Trajan’s column, and book covers and bindings that act as authorial self-portraits. The volume captures the Italian path to cultural modernity in all of its brilliance and multiplicity.
By:
Jeffrey Schnapp Imprint: Peter Lang International Academic Publishers Country of Publication: United Kingdom Edition: New edition Dimensions:
Height: 225mm,
Width: 150mm,
Weight: 477g ISBN:9781803742236 ISBN 10: 1803742232 Pages: 316 Publication Date:28 April 2023 Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Jeffrey T. Schnapp is the faculty director of metaLAB (at) Harvard, at Harvard University.
