INSTITUTE FOR DOCTORAL STUDIES
IN THE VISUAL ARTS
September 20, 2023
Hi everybody,
As some of you know already, Gianni Vattimo, the great Italian philosopher, died yesterday. We remain forever in Gianni Vattimo’s debt.
Vattimo entered into an ongoing dialogue with IDVSA several years ago, when IDSVA visiting faculty member Santiago Zabala first awakened us to Vattimo’s thinking. Since then, IDSVA has given much thought to Vattimo’s philosophy. Simonetta’s Moro’s recent editorial gem, The Vattimo Dictionary, appeared only just recently, through Edinburgh University Press. IDSVA core faculty member and dean of students Silvia Mazzini came to IDSVA through Santiago Zabala, who introduced us to Silvia in light of her superb edited collection, Making Communism Hermeneutical: Reading Vattimo and Zabala (2017). My recent book, on The Artist-Philosopher and Poetic Hermeneutics comes in part as a response to Vattimo's thinking on art and philosophy.
Vattimo received an IDSVA Honorary Doctorate in Turin, Italy, 2018. Santiago officiated at the ceremony. IDSVA director Simonetta Moro was on hand for the occasion, as was IDSVA executive vice president, Amy Curtis.
Yours,
George
Dr. George Smith
Founder and President
Edgar E. Coons, Jr. Professor of New Philosophy
Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts