Translating Warhol

Reviews / Votes

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 Raisonne, 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 *