Description: "The first study of the translations of Andy Warhol's writing and ideas, Translating Warhol reveals how translation has alternately censored, exposed, or otherwise affected the presentation of his political and social positions and attitudes and, in turn, the value we place on his art and person. Both historical and theoretical aspects of translation are taken up, and individual chapters discuss French, German, Italian, and Swedish translations, Warhol's translations of his mother's native Rusyn language and culture, the Indian artist Bhupen Khakkar's performative translations of Warhol, and Warhol as translated for documentary television"--
Brief description: Brian James Baer is Professor of Russian and Translation Studies at Kent State University, USA. He is the author of Other Russias: Homosexuality and the Crisis of Post-Soviet Identity, which was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2011, and the editor or co-editor of five books, including Russian Writers on Translation. An Anthology (co-edited with Natalia Olshanskaya, 2013). He is the Founding Editor of the journal Translation and Interpreting Studies.
Review Quotes:
"Andy Warhol's global imprint arguably derives as much from his words and his singular constructed 'voice' as it does from his paintings and films. In this light, Translating Warhol has the wit to tackle the language problem head on. In a series of case studies, a multidisciplinary group of scholars explores the challenges of translation and its role in shaping (or not shaping) historical perspectives and the reception of Warhol and his work. This is a pioneering book: fascinating and far-reaching, a compelling contribution not only to Warhol studies but to the study of translation as a modality of interpretation and cultural exchange." --Neil Printz, Editor, Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné, Andy Warhol Foundation
"Andy Warhol would have loved this book, because looked at closely, the act of translating Warhol-the attempt to translate Warhol-reveals just how deeply complex he and his work really were. Even the comic errors in some translations unlock the humor that's there already in the man and his art, as he and it refuse to make their meanings clear. The essays in Translating Warhol reveal something important: Warhol doesn't translate into English." --Blake Gopnik, author of Warhol (2020) "Any translator brave enough to take on Andy Warhol's work, his complex self-portrayal, 1970s New York slang, and his oblique utterances-more often caught on the interviewer's tape recorder than on the page-is forced to operate simultaneously on many levels: linguistic, intercultural, and intermedial. The challenges posed and the variable quality of the results achieved are the subject of this fascinating essay collection, which illuminates the extravagant play of Warhol's ideas as they traverse many languages and cultures. What would art history be without translation?" --Iain Boyd Whyte, Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh, UK, and Founding Editor of Art in Translation