- A monograph of works by Sardinian artist Maria Lai September 1981
marked a turning point in Maria Lai's development as an artist. Her
relational work Legarsi alla montagna, created at Ulassai, proved to be
a watershed. The importance of this event meant that it became a central
narrative episode in the monograph devoted to the Sardinian artist
(1919-2013) edited by Elena Pontiggia. The first part of the book,
consisting of ten chapters, brings into focus the various fields covered
in Lai's oeuvre: embroidered canvases, books, geography, bread and
stone, public works, and relational works. She was also interested in
the theater, the sacred in general, and nativity scenes in particular,
and the way play is associated with art. The truth is, Maria Lai's
inspiration and the expressions of her passions came in a multitude of
forms, all linked in one way or another to the family she grew up in and
which always proved strongly supportive of her and her artistic
endeavors. The second part of the book concentrates on the notes Maria
Lai took and the conversations she had with the writer Giuseppe Dessì,
and with Mario da Candia and Giuseppina Cuccu, for instance. It closes
with an essay that highlights the success her work enjoyed in the period
1943-93.
