This dissertation considers the early works of the Italian artist Giuseppe Penone. I argue that his works from the 1960s and 1970s are especially distinct from everything else he has made in the years since. The following chapters will show how descriptions and interpretations of Penone's art from the 1980s and after have been folded back upon his earlier projects. It has become a common practice to consider the early works in light of the later - much to the former's detriment. It is entirely because of this difference, generally unnoted, that I focus on Alpi Marittime [Maritime Alps] from 1968, then follow with a discussion of the first examples in a long series of Alberi [Trees] initiated in 1969. Analyses of two major works from 1970 follow: Rovesciare gli propri occhi [To Reverse One's Eyes], and Svolgere la Propria Pelle [To Unfold One's Skin].
These are exemplary works that stand out for their consistent interest in outsidedness, that is, how things (including ourselves) are exposed to the world. With them Penone confronts issues of exteriority and surfaces, the relationship of touch and sight, and the powerful notion that we understand our surroundings because of our embodied actions - that we are touched by the world even before we reach out to touch it, seen by it even as we see. Collectively, the early works are responding to and share in an underlying concern that is strongly phenomenological - or so I will argue. I \"bracket off\" Penone's early works from his subsequent career because they are different in kind and therefore deserve an alternative approach. What the early works call for is not so much interpretation as mere description: an attentiveness to what has been brought before our eyes. My interest is in considering them on their own terms. I provide an alternative language, one that articulates the works' shared phenomenological concerns and aims not to invoke the subjective or the unseen, but simply to have us see them anew for the kinds of things that they - and we with them - really are.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation considers the early works of the Italian artist Giuseppe Penone. I argue that his works from the 1960s and 1970s are especially distinct from everything else he has made in the years since. The following chapters will show how descriptions and interpretations of Penone's art from the 1980s and after have been folded back upon his earlier projects. It has become a common practice to consider the early works in light of the later - much to the former's detriment. It is entirely because of this difference, generally unnoted, that I focus on <i>Alpi Marittime</i> [<i>Maritime Alps</i>] from 1968, then follow with a discussion of the first examples in a long series of <i>Alberi</i> [<i>Trees</i>] initiated in 1969. Analyses of two major works from 1970 follow: <i>Rovesciare gli propri occhi</i> [<i>To Reverse One's Eyes</i>], and <i>Svolgere la Propria Pelle</i> [<i>To Unfold One's Skin</i>].</p> <p>These are exemplary works that stand out for their consistent interest in <i>outsidedness</i>, that is, how things (including ourselves) are exposed to the world. With them Penone confronts issues of exteriority and surfaces, the relationship of touch and sight, and the powerful notion that we understand our surroundings because of our embodied actions - that we are touched by the world even before we reach out to touch it, seen by it even as we see. Collectively, the early works are responding to and share in an underlying concern that is strongly phenomenological - or so I will argue. I "bracket off" Penone's early works from his subsequent career because they are different in kind and therefore deserve an alternative approach. What the early works call for is not so much interpretation as mere description: an attentiveness to what has been brought before our eyes. My interest is in considering them on their own terms. I provide an alternative language, one that articulates the works' shared phenomenological concerns and aims not to invoke the subjective or the unseen, but simply to have us see them anew for the kinds of things that they - and we with them - really are.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pagano, Greer London"],"institution":"The Ohio State University","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"History of Art","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Florman, Lisa"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-08-09","date_published":"2013-08-09","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:37:46Z","subjects":["Art History","Giuseppe Penone"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366111723","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Florman, Lisa"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pagano, Greer London"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013-08-09"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The Ohio State University / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History of Art"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Ohio State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Art History","Giuseppe Penone"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366111723"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["This dissertation considers the early works of the Italian artist Giuseppe Penone. I argue that his works from the 1960s and 1970s are especially distinct from everything else he has made in the years since. The following chapters will show how descriptions and interpretations of Penone's art from the 1980s and after have been folded back upon his earlier projects. It has become a common practice to consider the early works in light of the later - much to the former's detriment. It is entirely because of this difference, generally unnoted, that I focus on Alpi Marittime [Maritime Alps] from 1968, then follow with a discussion of the first examples in a long series of Alberi [Trees] initiated in 1969. Analyses of two major works from 1970 follow: Rovesciare gli propri occhi [To Reverse One's Eyes], and Svolgere la Propria Pelle [To Unfold One's Skin].
These are exemplary works that stand out for their consistent interest in outsidedness, that is, how things (including ourselves) are exposed to the world. With them Penone confronts issues of exteriority and surfaces, the relationship of touch and sight, and the powerful notion that we understand our surroundings because of our embodied actions - that we are touched by the world even before we reach out to touch it, seen by it even as we see. Collectively, the early works are responding to and share in an underlying concern that is strongly phenomenological - or so I will argue. I \"bracket off\" Penone's early works from his subsequent career because they are different in kind and therefore deserve an alternative approach. What the early works call for is not so much interpretation as mere description: an attentiveness to what has been brought before our eyes. My interest is in considering them on their own terms. I provide an alternative language, one that articulates the works' shared phenomenological concerns and aims not to invoke the subjective or the unseen, but simply to have us see them anew for the kinds of things that they - and we with them - really are.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf","p.244","26.87 MB"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Tactile Vision: The Work of Giuseppe Penone"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Florman, Lisa"],"dc:creator":["Pagano, Greer London"],"dc:date":["2013-08-09"],"dc:description":["This dissertation considers the early works of the Italian artist Giuseppe Penone. I argue that his works from the 1960s and 1970s are especially distinct from everything else he has made in the years since. The following chapters will show how descriptions and interpretations of Penone's art from the 1980s and after have been folded back upon his earlier projects. It has become a common practice to consider the early works in light of the later - much to the former's detriment. It is entirely because of this difference, generally unnoted, that I focus on Alpi Marittime [Maritime Alps] from 1968, then follow with a discussion of the first examples in a long series of Alberi [Trees] initiated in 1969. Analyses of two major works from 1970 follow: Rovesciare gli propri occhi [To Reverse One's Eyes], and Svolgere la Propria Pelle [To Unfold One's Skin].
These are exemplary works that stand out for their consistent interest in outsidedness, that is, how things (including ourselves) are exposed to the world. With them Penone confronts issues of exteriority and surfaces, the relationship of touch and sight, and the powerful notion that we understand our surroundings because of our embodied actions - that we are touched by the world even before we reach out to touch it, seen by it even as we see. Collectively, the early works are responding to and share in an underlying concern that is strongly phenomenological - or so I will argue. I \"bracket off\" Penone's early works from his subsequent career because they are different in kind and therefore deserve an alternative approach. What the early works call for is not so much interpretation as mere description: an attentiveness to what has been brought before our eyes. My interest is in considering them on their own terms. I provide an alternative language, one that articulates the works' shared phenomenological concerns and aims not to invoke the subjective or the unseen, but simply to have us see them anew for the kinds of things that they - and we with them - really are.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf","p.244","26.87 MB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366111723"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["The Ohio State University / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["Art History","Giuseppe Penone"],"dc:title":["Tactile Vision: The Work of Giuseppe Penone"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History of Art"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Ohio State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:37:46Z"}