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Chinese Translation in Progress

January 11, 2018 / Michelle Kamhi / About 'Who Says That's Art?', Contemporary art / 3 Comments

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Some time ago, I received a message through my website contact form that was headed “Looking for Possibility to Translate Your Book into Chinese.” Needless to say, I was delighted.

After introducing himself as Chen Guang Wang, a Chinese émigré in his third year as a student of Visual Art at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, the writer explained:

Chen Guang Wang - False Simulacra,

Chen Guang Wang, False Simulacra, winner of best figurative/portrait award at the 7th International Represen-tational Show hosted by the Federation of Canadian Artists.

Art has been my lifelong endeavor, yet I have always wondered why I could not understand most Contemporary Art. About a year ago, I Googled “why I can’t understand conceptual art” and found Aristos, with your article “Understanding Contemporary Art.” I also learned of your book Who Says That’s Art?. I was thrilled to see that someone has been dedicated to this issue for decades, and that your writing is very solid.

Observing that art in China is in the same confused condition as here and that people are “thirsty” for anything new from the West, he added that “after 100 years, we might be . . . at a turning point,” with a return to representational work. In such a climate, he suggested, there should be interest in a Chinese edition of Who Says That’s Art?.

In a subsequent message, Chen Guang wrote that he was eager to translate the book because “most people are perplexed by ‘conceptual art,’ ‘readymades’ and ‘abstract art.'” In his view, my “strong argument” against such work “definitely needs to be spread.”

Given the extensive work required to translate the entire book and publish a Chinese edition, however, we agreed that it would be prudent to explore the potential interest for such an edition. A sample chapter—Chen Guang’s translation of the book’s Introduction into Simplified Chinese—is therefore published here. Chinese readers interested in seeing more should contact the translator.

Chen Guang Wang, Chinese translation, contemporary art in China, understanding contemporary art

3 comments on “Chinese Translation in Progress”

  1. Roy Burgess says:
    January 12, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    Thanks to the internet your words can be read by people all over the world. Let’s hope your words will be translated into many languages.

    Reply
    • Michelle Kamhi says:
      January 12, 2018 at 4:48 pm

      Thanks for that affirmation, Roy.

      Reply
  2. Barbara Phillips says:
    January 11, 2018 at 10:22 pm

    It was fascinating to read Chen Guang Wang’s comments about the confusion of contemporary art in China. It sounds like a Chinese translation of ‘Who Says That’s Art’ might quench their thirst for something new from the West.

    Reply

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