esposizioneessere

Esposizioneessere is a coined term used in Italian philosophy and art criticism to describe a mode of discourse or representation that seeks to reveal the conditions of being by exposing them directly within the work itself. The neologism merges esposizione (exposure, display) with essere (being), signaling an approach that treats ontological questions as an explicit subject of presentation rather than a distant background.

The concept centers on transparency and reflexivity. In practice, esposizioneessere involves making visible the framework through which experience is interpreted, the material conditions of perception, or the apparatus of the work. It often manifests in two broad strands: a documentary or autofictional approach that foregrounds the act of perception and existence, and a phenomenological or conceptual art practice that arranges objects, scenes, or narratives to force viewers to confront the givenness of being.

Applications and contexts include philosophy, literary criticism, film and media studies, and contemporary art. Works described through this lens typically emphasize processes of knowing, being, and showing, rather than delivering a detached analysis or purely fictional illusion. Examples might include a novel that repeatedly foregrounds the reader’s or narrator’s act of perceiving, or a video installation that exposes the contingent conditions of its own production and reception.

Reception and critique acknowledge that esposizioneessere can illuminate how existence is experienced, but its vagueness and methodological ambiguity are common objections. Critics argue that the term risks tautology or overgeneralization unless anchored to specific practices or textual strategies. Related concepts include phenomenology, ontology, autofiction, and documentary realism.