Transform/Translate
How do works of art, and particularly monumental sculptures for biennales and major exhibitions arise today? This was the initial question of the project ‘Artistic Materials and Production in Globalization’ at the University of the Arts Bremen, Germany. The research began questioning our own practices in the studios and workshops at the university, then leading to the mega-studios by Joep van Lieshout or Olafur Eliasson, and finally to Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and southern China to visit production facilities of contemporary art. Our focus was on sites, where international artists commission works for international exhibitions. We documented the workshops, talked to managers, their staff and artists, discussing forms of communication, decision-making, and translation issues. The publication presents a globalized art production that not only inspires the feasibility fantasies of many artists and their clients, it also changes the artworks and their meanings. Outsourcing artistic production to the workshops of the world requires constant translations of communication, appreciation of art and its content. The smooth international assignment is more of an obsession and in the actual realization, the location captures a significant role again. This material view on the production of art allows questions about working conditions, economy and distribution, but also changes the image of the artist and ultimately challenges today’s art education.
Ingo Vetter (Ed.): Umsetzen/Übersetzen – Ein Bericht über Produktionsstätten internationaler Kunst in Asien
120 pages, b/w, limp bound, 160 × 220 mm
ISBN 978-3-86485-140-7
Edition of 300, Price 12 Euro, Textem Verlag Hamburg 2016
Authors: Amina Brotz, Bruce Bo Ding, Zoe Dittrich-Wamser, Thomas Eller, Sara Förster, Paula Hurtado, Santi Lawrachawee, Ji Eun Lee, Maria Miesenberger, Ingrid Ogenstedt, Veronika Radulovic, Wantanee Siripattananuntakul, Jónína Mjöll Thormodsdottir, Ingo Vetter, Pauline J. Yao
Lectorate: Radek Krolczyk (German), Catriona Shaw (English)
Translation from the Swedish: Anja Stegen
Design and production: Santi Lawrachawee, Nattapol Rojjanarattanangkool, Pitiporn Wonggornworawej, PRACTICAL Design Studio, Bangkok, Thailand,
Printed in Thailand
Funded by the University of the Arts Bremen