Gianni-Emilio Simonetti: arte e politica del linguaggio

The artistic activity of Gianni Emilio Simonetti differs from the verbo-visual Italian trends of the 1960s, although he was sometimes associated with them. His works do not obey the concept of 'semiological guerrilla warfare' theorised by Miccini and do not present explicit references to the mechanisms of mass communication and advertising slogans with the intention of subversively opposing the occult systems of that communication from within. The way in which Simonetti considers it possible to deal with politics through art is only through the radical critical activity developed in the post-war period by the Situationist International. All of his work, from publishing to collage, in particular, is a work of radical critique, which sews up the distance of politics from the social life of contemporary reality. The essay highlights the artist's position in the Italian and especially the international context.