Bruno Munari's 'In the Fog of Milan' Explored in New York

An exhibition in New York is exploring Bruno Munari's 1968 picture book 'Nella Nebbia di Milano,' known in English as 'The Circus in the Mist.' The show, curated by artist Riccardo Vecchio and publisher Pietro Corraini of Italy's Corraini Edizioni, includes an immersive installation based on the book and runs through September 28 at the SVA Flatiron Project Space.

According to an essay by Vecchio reprinted by Publishers Weekly, the original Italian title emphasizes the fog, a phenomenon deeply rooted in Milanese life until the late 1990s. The English translation shifted focus to the circus, likely to make it more relatable to an American audience unfamiliar with Milan's specific climate. Vecchio clarifies a distinction: "Fog is something else entirely. It is heavier, denser-mixed with smog from coal furnaces, heavy fuel oil, and leaded gasoline."

The Book as a Physical Experience

Munari's book uses layered translucent vellum to mimic the tactile, dense quality of industrial fog. Vecchio notes that the vellum's sandpaper texture recalls the damp particulate air, making reading a physical act of moving through space. Turning the page is likened to moving forward to escape the fog before reaching the circus.

An Immersive Gallery Installation

The exhibition installation replicates this experience. Several large semitransparent curtains printed with black silhouettes recreate the effect of the book's vellum pages. This allows visitors to physically move through the book's environment, reinforcing the exhibition's broader theme of "Building Books"-the concept of a book as a spatial experience rather than a mere object.

A Personal Memory of Milan's Fog

Vecchio, who grew up in Milan, describes his personal connection to the phenomenon depicted. He recalls early morning commutes where fog reduced visibility to mere meters, muffling all sound. The stark black cut-outs of objects in Munari's book, he writes, recreate the sudden appearance of a train emerging from the fog with its distinctive soundscape. He also remembers the fog's pervasive presence inside trains, mixed with cigarette smoke and the smell of damp newspapers.

The Enduring Power of Print

Vecchio states that while photographs and films from that era have faded, Munari's book has not. The color stock paper, vellum, cutouts, and writing retain their original intensity. He credits the book with deepening his appreciation for gray as a color in itself. Although Milan's industrial fog has vanished and the city has changed, Munari's book remains. It continues to ask readers to move through the fog before arriving at the circus, a journey Vecchio revisited through the exhibition.