Article,
Ekphrasis, Translation, Critique
Art in Translation, 2 (2): 131--152 (2010)
DOI: 10.2752/175613110X12706508989370
Abstract
Venuti argues that translation theory provides a rigorous methodology for studying ekphrastic texts and their relation to their source images. The relation is not instrumental, nor is it a simple transfer of a formal or semantic invariant, but hermeneutic, an interpretation that varies source form and meaning through the application of an interpretant. The hermeneutic relation is transformative, because a key aspect of any interpretant is its relation to cultural traditions and social situations that differ from those of the source material. As a result, the hermeneutic relation can be treated not only as interpretive, but as interrogative, exposing the cultural and social conditions of the source material and of the second-order work that has processed it. The critic’s application of an interpretant, whether a particular interpretation or critical methodology, determines the formulation of the hermeneutic relation and its interrogative effects. This procedure helps to avoid privileging either the source materials or the second-order creation and to turn the critic’s work into an act of self-criticism. Ultimately, the hermeneutic model of translation holds the promise that we can study the relations between images and texts so as to allow them the relative autonomy that befits their distinctive forms and practices. Venuti’s analysis of Rosanna Warren’s ekphrastic poem, “Renoir” (based on Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party) illustrates his theory.
