Antoni Muntadas: On Translation

by Antoni Muntadas, Javier Arnaldo, Mary Staniszewski

From one language to another, one voice through a telephone through an ear into an email through a fax machine via a satellite hookup, a third language, a photograph and four hybrid cultures ... you know what I mean. Problems of translation have long fascinated Antoni Muntadas. In a 1995 manifesto the artist proclaimed his concern with the way in which the transmission of information through different systems and its subsequent translation can transform, fragment, deform and even obscure or censor any original meaning. That concern has fed the ongoing On Translation series through projects which vary greatly in terms of their formalization, projects which pose questions about such themes as the identity of artistic practice, the idea of its social value, and the possibilities of representation, curatorial interpretation, transcription and conservation of heritage.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Antoni Muntadas (born in 1942 in Barcelona) is a multidisciplinary, media artist, sometimes also referred to as Antonio Muntadas or, simply, Muntadas. Since 1971, he lives and works in New York. Muntadas was a Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT,1977–1984, and is currently Visiting Professor with MIT Visual Arts Program. His work has been exhibited widely, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Venice Biennale, documenta 6 and documenta X.