HOW LANGUAGE MOVES is an interdisciplinary project investigating the process of translation as an (in)voluntary exchange of cultural, visual, and emotional truths. Focusing primarily on spoken and written language, we unpack significant narratives in translation and take stock of what is lost or reinscribed in the process, as well as what emerges. Does it not seem that some languages lie closer to the heart, others closer to the head? Through a series of events and exercises, we tease out participants’ personal relationships to languages and set them against a backdrop of literary, post-colonial, and art theory.
We work with the understanding that language is a living thing, anchored by institutions and global politics yet always in flux. We find that languages inhabit our bodies, often sharing space with several languages at a time, taking turns resting on our tongue, or narrating our dreams. Amsterdam provides a perfect setting for the exploration of multilingualism. We utilize the incredibly creative local community to spark analysis about the daily realities of living between languages and constantly negotiating our identities as multicultural individuals and communities. HOW LANGUAGE MOVES convinces us that culture and tradition are not static things – that the ways we interact with the word, as transcribed by language, are just as dynamic as our vocabularies.
By bringing together artists, teachers, curators, interpreters, publishers, students, writers, philosophers, and many others, we seek to activate the full potential of translation across disciplines. Not only do we implement written and spoken language as tools for communication, but visual, corporal, and musical methods as well. And while we are invested in the successes of translation, we are equally interested in its failures. What resists translation? What evades translation? And are these obstacles we can overcome, or even want to? Participants can expect to come away from these collaborations with a revitalized awareness of self as situated in language. Perhaps we may also renew an excitement for intercultural collaborations, and a willingness to stretch outside of one’s comfort zone and begin to communicate what before seemed out of reach.
- Anders Villalta, research assistant
Contributions from:
Renata de Andrade
Matthias van Baaren
Delphine Bedel
Maurizio Buquicchio
Coco Duivenvoorde
Andrea Reyes Elizondo
Cissie Fu
Louis Hothothot
Go Eun Im
Brigitte Kovacs
Martín La Roche
Mirko Lazović
Marianna Maruyama
Mariajosé Rodríguez Pliego
Angela Serino
Igor Sevcuk
Mounira Al Solh
Anders Villalta
Ton De Vreede
25 July 14:00 - 20:00 with dinner & drinks: Renata de Andrade, Cissie Fu, Marianna Maruyama, and Matthias van Baaren
31 July 14:00 - 20:00 with dinner & drinks: Andrea Reyes Elizondo, Mounira Al Solh, Delphine Bedel, Coco Duivenvoorde, Angela Serino, Igor Sevcuk, and Ton De Vreede
1 Aug 14:00 - 20:00 with dinner & drinks: Brigitte Kovacs, Mariajosé Rodríguez Pliego, Martín La Roche, Louis Hothothot, and Go Eun Im
HOW LANGUAGE MOVES began as a three-day symposium testing the parameters of translation in artistic practices, initiated by artist Marianna Maruyama in 2015.
The idea behind this mid-summer gathering was to set aside a concentrated period of time to test out a range of theories and hypotheses about translation, and closely watch how it moves. Beginning with the most fundamental questions - What is translation? What can it be? What can it not be? - each presenter offered his or her reflections on these questions, and introduced a practical exercise for the group to carry out in any arrangement (as a group, as individuals, or pairs, etc). A generous amount of time was allotted for these exercises with the aim that they could be carried out fully; not as proposals or suggestions, but rather as tests that have a (preliminary) conclusion.
What kind of theories about translation did we explore? Taking an expanded notion of translation, we considered 'intersemiotic translations', such as the translation of text into image; and broadened the scope a bit further, thinking of translation from thought into action, or the translation of a life into fiction; also, translation as dialogue, translation as publishing itself, or translation as embodiment.
The field is rich, and yet, this kind of boundless speculation can become problematic if we want to communicate our ideas and arrive at a common point of understanding. It is helpful to differentiate translation from transformation, interpretation, or adaptation. Through these experiments, we worked through fundamental questions about the nature of translation.
The entire program was held at Goleb, an artist-run space in the Amsterdam's New West.
www.mariannamaruyama.com
We work with the understanding that language is a living thing, anchored by institutions and global politics yet always in flux. We find that languages inhabit our bodies, often sharing space with several languages at a time, taking turns resting on our tongue, or narrating our dreams. Amsterdam provides a perfect setting for the exploration of multilingualism. We utilize the incredibly creative local community to spark analysis about the daily realities of living between languages and constantly negotiating our identities as multicultural individuals and communities. HOW LANGUAGE MOVES convinces us that culture and tradition are not static things – that the ways we interact with the word, as transcribed by language, are just as dynamic as our vocabularies.
By bringing together artists, teachers, curators, interpreters, publishers, students, writers, philosophers, and many others, we seek to activate the full potential of translation across disciplines. Not only do we implement written and spoken language as tools for communication, but visual, corporal, and musical methods as well. And while we are invested in the successes of translation, we are equally interested in its failures. What resists translation? What evades translation? And are these obstacles we can overcome, or even want to? Participants can expect to come away from these collaborations with a revitalized awareness of self as situated in language. Perhaps we may also renew an excitement for intercultural collaborations, and a willingness to stretch outside of one’s comfort zone and begin to communicate what before seemed out of reach.
- Anders Villalta, research assistant
Contributions from:
Renata de Andrade
Matthias van Baaren
Delphine Bedel
Maurizio Buquicchio
Coco Duivenvoorde
Andrea Reyes Elizondo
Cissie Fu
Louis Hothothot
Go Eun Im
Brigitte Kovacs
Martín La Roche
Mirko Lazović
Marianna Maruyama
Mariajosé Rodríguez Pliego
Angela Serino
Igor Sevcuk
Mounira Al Solh
Anders Villalta
Ton De Vreede
25 July 14:00 - 20:00 with dinner & drinks: Renata de Andrade, Cissie Fu, Marianna Maruyama, and Matthias van Baaren
31 July 14:00 - 20:00 with dinner & drinks: Andrea Reyes Elizondo, Mounira Al Solh, Delphine Bedel, Coco Duivenvoorde, Angela Serino, Igor Sevcuk, and Ton De Vreede
1 Aug 14:00 - 20:00 with dinner & drinks: Brigitte Kovacs, Mariajosé Rodríguez Pliego, Martín La Roche, Louis Hothothot, and Go Eun Im
HOW LANGUAGE MOVES began as a three-day symposium testing the parameters of translation in artistic practices, initiated by artist Marianna Maruyama in 2015.
The idea behind this mid-summer gathering was to set aside a concentrated period of time to test out a range of theories and hypotheses about translation, and closely watch how it moves. Beginning with the most fundamental questions - What is translation? What can it be? What can it not be? - each presenter offered his or her reflections on these questions, and introduced a practical exercise for the group to carry out in any arrangement (as a group, as individuals, or pairs, etc). A generous amount of time was allotted for these exercises with the aim that they could be carried out fully; not as proposals or suggestions, but rather as tests that have a (preliminary) conclusion.
What kind of theories about translation did we explore? Taking an expanded notion of translation, we considered 'intersemiotic translations', such as the translation of text into image; and broadened the scope a bit further, thinking of translation from thought into action, or the translation of a life into fiction; also, translation as dialogue, translation as publishing itself, or translation as embodiment.
The field is rich, and yet, this kind of boundless speculation can become problematic if we want to communicate our ideas and arrive at a common point of understanding. It is helpful to differentiate translation from transformation, interpretation, or adaptation. Through these experiments, we worked through fundamental questions about the nature of translation.
The entire program was held at Goleb, an artist-run space in the Amsterdam's New West.
www.mariannamaruyama.com
