We are all fascinated by the mystery of metamorphosis – of the caterpillar that transforms itself into a butterfly. Their bodies have almost nothing in common. They don’t share the same world: one crawls on the ground and the other flutters its wings in the air. And yet they are one and the same life. Emanuele Coccia argues that metamorphosis – the phenomenon that allows the same life to subsist in disparate bodies – is the relationship that binds all species together and unites the living with the non-living. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants, animals: they are all one and the same life. Each species, including the human species, is the metamorphosis of all those that preceded it – the same life, cobbling together a new body and a new form in order to exist differently. And there is no opposition between the living and the non-living: life is always the reincarnation of the non-living, a carnival of the telluric substance of a planet – the Earth – that continually draws new faces and new ways of being out of even the smallest particle of its disparate body. By highlighting what joins humans together with other forms of life, Coccia’s brilliant reflection on metamorphosis encourages us to abandon our view of the human species as static and independent and to recognize instead that we are part of a much larger and interconnected form of life.

This book is significant for its concept of "openness"--the artist's decision to leave arrangements of some constituents of a work to the public or to chance--and for its anticipation of two themes of literary theory: the element of multiplicity and plurality in art, and the insistence on literary response as an interaction between reader and text.

Carla Sozzani opened Galleria Carla Sozzani in September 1990 as a space for art, photography, and design housed in a converted garage at 10 Corso Como in Milan. Along with American artist Kris Ruhs, Sozzani created a space like no other. Rejecting ordinary retail norms, this concept store has always promoted a different philosophy—that of slow shopping, a succession of spaces and events that prioritize lifestyle over object acquisition. In this book, Sozzani describes her world: her style, personal taste, and opinions on fashion, travel, design, and lifestyle. The Galleria now incorporates a bookshop, a fashion and design store, and a garden café, and it is one of Milan’s hippest and most exquisitely curated spaces—a destination in itself. 10 Corso Como has become the nexus of a global network of cultural exchange through fashion, food, art, and photography that continues to inspire fashion and design. In recent years, two additional locations have been added: 10 Corso Como–Comme des Garçons in Tokyo in 2002 and a Seoul branch in 2008.