Speak Italian: The Fine Art of the Gesture

Bruno Munari

 

Perfetto – We are living in an age when texting, Tweeting and all sorts of technology are tilting written communication back toward a form of hieroglyphics, in which pictograms trump words. And with scientists now studying whether an increased use of digital devices leads to a shrinking vocabulary, it’s a good time to bone-up on an ancient but powerful communication tool: the gesture. Movement conveys meaning and sometimes a hundred words are better summarized with the thrust of a finger or the flick of a wrist. Visiting Harvard earlier this year, our friend from Firenze, Alessandro Bigazzi, purchased this slim book for Robert and me. (Gifts are sweet gestures themselves.) We have a long way to go before we’re close to mastering the art of the gesture, but this handy guide is a fun place to start.