Multimodality and the Arts
Creative and Performative Processes as Intersemiotic Translation
Will be published approx. on 17. September 2026
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-350-52615-0 (ISBN)
Description
Researchers, translators, practitioners and artists join voices in this volume to explore the profound relationship between multimodality and translation. Looking at the subject from a wide range of perspectives, this book questions the possibility of redefining art practices and artworks as forms and processes of intersemiotic translation.
Exploring the connection between multimodality, translation and the arts, the authors uncover the many overlooked practices of translation which are already inherent in artistic research and in the production of multimodal artworks and texts. In the process, they demystify the notion of multimodality as a matter of artistic inquiry only, examining the processes of embodied, collaborative, kinetic, material, and intersemiotic translation which artists have always undertaken within their work.
The book is divided into four distinct yet interrelated sections. Part One explores multimodality as a key notion to re-conceptualise translation in the arts, encompassing poetry, site-specific performance, and creative cuisine. Part Two is dedicated to translation, music and sound, while in Part Three, the connection between dance, embodied practices, and translation is investigated and presented through non-conventional essays which are themselves multimodal texts. Finally, Part Four contains the transcripts of conversations between artists and scholars in which artists explore, explain and unravel the relationship between their creative process and the process of translation, offering unique practical and experiential insights into the subject. The strong focus on the performative arts gives the book an interdisciplinary perspective at the interface of language and art.
Exploring the connection between multimodality, translation and the arts, the authors uncover the many overlooked practices of translation which are already inherent in artistic research and in the production of multimodal artworks and texts. In the process, they demystify the notion of multimodality as a matter of artistic inquiry only, examining the processes of embodied, collaborative, kinetic, material, and intersemiotic translation which artists have always undertaken within their work.
The book is divided into four distinct yet interrelated sections. Part One explores multimodality as a key notion to re-conceptualise translation in the arts, encompassing poetry, site-specific performance, and creative cuisine. Part Two is dedicated to translation, music and sound, while in Part Three, the connection between dance, embodied practices, and translation is investigated and presented through non-conventional essays which are themselves multimodal texts. Finally, Part Four contains the transcripts of conversations between artists and scholars in which artists explore, explain and unravel the relationship between their creative process and the process of translation, offering unique practical and experiential insights into the subject. The strong focus on the performative arts gives the book an interdisciplinary perspective at the interface of language and art.
Reviews / Votes
This insightful and imaginative volume demonstrates how materials, forms, sensations, and emotions interact across creative practices, compelling us to think of intersemiotic translation as embodied, performative, experiential, and affective. From dance to poetry, culinary art, opera, film, and music, it reveals how translationality animates multimodal art. * Piotr Blumczynski, Centre for Translation and Interpreting, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK) *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
52 mono
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-52615-0 (9781350526150)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Angela Tiziana Tarantini is Assistant Professor of Translation Studies at Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
Irene Fiordilino is Director of Scirocco Dance Theatre Company, UK and Guest Lecturer at Trinity Laban, UK.
Joanna Chojnicka is Assistant Professor of English Linguistics, member of the Language Diversity research group, and member of the CLA (Critical Language Awareness) hub at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Irene Fiordilino is Director of Scirocco Dance Theatre Company, UK and Guest Lecturer at Trinity Laban, UK.
Joanna Chojnicka is Assistant Professor of English Linguistics, member of the Language Diversity research group, and member of the CLA (Critical Language Awareness) hub at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Content
Introduction, Irene Fiordilino (Scirocco Dance Theatre Company, UK), Angela Tiziana Tarantini (Utrecht University, the Netherlands) and Joanna Chojnicka (University of Groningen, the Netherlands)
Part I: Multimodality, Embodiment and Presence through Intersemiotic Translation
1. Intersemiotic Translation in Multimodal Artworks: The Case of Site-specific Performance, Irene Fiordilino (Scirocco Dance Theatre Company, UK)
2. Eclipse: Choreographic Problems, Somatic Processes and Being-With as Methods for Translating Between Philosophy and Dance, Carolyn Roy (Trinity Laban, UK)
3. The Potential of Intersemiotic Translation in Translating Poetry, Joanna Kolsmaska (University of Lodz, Poland)
4. Constructing the Landscape: Delpastre's Poetry as Translation Process, Costanza Amato (Independent Researcher, Italy)
5. The Translation of Artistic and Unrealistic Recipes: An Invitation to Multimodality through a Tasty Materiality, Sofia Lacasta Millera (University of Salamanca, Spain)
Part II: Music and Sound in/as Translation
6. John Cage's Roaratorio and the Problems of Translation between Text and Music, Peter Nagle (Trinity Laban, UK)
7. Listening to the Creaking Frame: Derrida's Parergon and Image/Music Translation, Thomas Metcalf (University of Oxford, UK)
8. Enhancing Performativity Through Multimodal Connectivity: A New Slovenian Vocal Translation of the Children's Fairy-Tale Opera The Jungle Book, Benjamin Virc (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
9. Finding Hannah 'In-Between': Reflections on Multimodal Translation, Transgender Identity, and Liminality after Staging the Contemporary Opera As One, Benjamin Davis (Independent Scholar, UK)
10. Multimodal Translation in Film and Music: the Case of Oppenheimer (2023), Helen Julia Minors (York St John University, UK)
Part III: Dance as Multimodal Translation (online only)
11. Laughing Gas: Multimodal Processes of Writing for Autoethnographic Performance, Vanio Papadelli (Trinity Laban, UK)
12. Tender Threads: A Multimodal Methodology for Creative Rebellion Joanna Cook (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
13. Re-composing Body Language through Dance in Soledad (2025), Maria Sole Montacci (Trinity Laban, UK)
Part IV: Artists and Scholars in Conversation
14. Translating Cymrecitod/Welshness into Sound. John Rea in conversation with Angela Tiziana Tarantini
15. Translation as Transcendence. Karl Katschthaler in conversation with Joanna Chojnicka
16. Translating the Body onto the Canvas. Paul Robert Mitchell in conversation with Angela Tiziana Tarantini
17. The Artist as Translator? Danica Maier in conversation with Irene Fiordilino
Index
Part I: Multimodality, Embodiment and Presence through Intersemiotic Translation
1. Intersemiotic Translation in Multimodal Artworks: The Case of Site-specific Performance, Irene Fiordilino (Scirocco Dance Theatre Company, UK)
2. Eclipse: Choreographic Problems, Somatic Processes and Being-With as Methods for Translating Between Philosophy and Dance, Carolyn Roy (Trinity Laban, UK)
3. The Potential of Intersemiotic Translation in Translating Poetry, Joanna Kolsmaska (University of Lodz, Poland)
4. Constructing the Landscape: Delpastre's Poetry as Translation Process, Costanza Amato (Independent Researcher, Italy)
5. The Translation of Artistic and Unrealistic Recipes: An Invitation to Multimodality through a Tasty Materiality, Sofia Lacasta Millera (University of Salamanca, Spain)
Part II: Music and Sound in/as Translation
6. John Cage's Roaratorio and the Problems of Translation between Text and Music, Peter Nagle (Trinity Laban, UK)
7. Listening to the Creaking Frame: Derrida's Parergon and Image/Music Translation, Thomas Metcalf (University of Oxford, UK)
8. Enhancing Performativity Through Multimodal Connectivity: A New Slovenian Vocal Translation of the Children's Fairy-Tale Opera The Jungle Book, Benjamin Virc (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
9. Finding Hannah 'In-Between': Reflections on Multimodal Translation, Transgender Identity, and Liminality after Staging the Contemporary Opera As One, Benjamin Davis (Independent Scholar, UK)
10. Multimodal Translation in Film and Music: the Case of Oppenheimer (2023), Helen Julia Minors (York St John University, UK)
Part III: Dance as Multimodal Translation (online only)
11. Laughing Gas: Multimodal Processes of Writing for Autoethnographic Performance, Vanio Papadelli (Trinity Laban, UK)
12. Tender Threads: A Multimodal Methodology for Creative Rebellion Joanna Cook (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
13. Re-composing Body Language through Dance in Soledad (2025), Maria Sole Montacci (Trinity Laban, UK)
Part IV: Artists and Scholars in Conversation
14. Translating Cymrecitod/Welshness into Sound. John Rea in conversation with Angela Tiziana Tarantini
15. Translation as Transcendence. Karl Katschthaler in conversation with Joanna Chojnicka
16. Translating the Body onto the Canvas. Paul Robert Mitchell in conversation with Angela Tiziana Tarantini
17. The Artist as Translator? Danica Maier in conversation with Irene Fiordilino
Index