JOHN GIORNO - THE PERFORMATIVE WORD (INGLÉS)

John Giorno: The Performative Word is the first monograph dedicated to the American artist, poet, and activist John Giorno, published on the occasion of his retrospective exhibition at MAMbo - Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna. Emerging from New York’s downtown scene of the 1960s, Giorno developed a singular artistic practice at the intersection of poetry, performance, visual art, and political activism over more than six decades.

By bringing the written word off the page and into performance, technology, and visual media, Giorno challenged disciplinary boundaries and advanced a radical vision of language as a central force of human expression. While often associated with movements such as the Beats and the milieu of Andy Warhol’s Factory, as well as punk, queer counterculture, and anti-war activism, he functioned as a vital connector between overlapping cultural communities. His collaborators included Robert Rauschenberg, William S. Burroughs, Laurie Anderson, Anne Waldman, Allen Ginsberg, and Ugo Rondinone, among many others.

This publication explores the many ways Giorno integrated poetry into everyday life—on walls, in performances, on LP records, and through the telephone in the context of Dial-A-Poem, one of his most iconic works. A rich selection of archival materials, images, and ephemera offers an intimate portrait of Giorno as an activist, performer, Buddhist practitioner, collaborator, and friend.

Editors: Lorenzo Balbi, Anthony Huberman, Bonnie Whitehouse
Contributors: Lorenzo Balbi, Kyle Dacuyan, Nicola Ricciardi, Ugo Rondinone, Laura Hoptman, Drew Sawyer
Publication Date: 2026
Format: Softcover
Dimensions: 22 × 30 cm
Pages: 224
Language: English
ISBN: 978-88-6749-730-0