Interdisciplinary Research Between Translation Studies and Contemporary Chinese Art: A Case Study of Writing on Zhang Xiaogang and His Art

Abstract

This thesis comprises an interdisciplinary study combining translation studies and the realm of Contemporary Chinese art, through a case study of Zhang Xiaogang [张晓刚] and his art, as represented in art historical and critical writings in English and Chinese. The research challenges the portrayal in the English texts of Zhang as a solitary avant-garde artist oppressed by politics and reveals an intricate link between Zhang and China's evolving political context in the Chinese texts: an aspect that has been overlooked in western art history reception. The inspiration for this interdisciplinary study was initially informed by Roman Jakobson’s (2004 [1959]) concept of intersemiotic translation that enabled the combination of translation studies and a case study of a contemporary Chinese artist within an interdisciplinary framework. Within this framework, a critical examination of contexts, texts and paratexts is underpinned by Maria Tymoczko’s (2014) conceptual approach to cultural translation.

The research addresses a gap in translation studies pertaining to texts in art History and criticism, which represent the practical application of Jakobson's intersemiotic translation. Through an analysis of these texts, the research reveals the intricate interplay between Zhang and political ideologies, which is set in the context of political regime change during the post Cultural Revolution; pro-Western and right-wing ideologies in the 1980’s; Confucian collectivism and its tension with Maoism, and the nation’s cultural and political strategies in the post-Olympics period.

Anchored by the artistic figure of Zhang Xiaogang, the research evaluated the function of art historical and critical texts in the case study. These texts functioned not only to depict the intricate facets of Zhang, a Chinese avant-garde artist, who was shaped by political ideologies, but also encompasses the varying ideologies empowered by translators, resulting in responses to the political power and agenda or strategies for circumventing political censorship. Therefore, at the micro-level, these texts unveiled a complexity of the role of translators in perpetuating the enduring vitality of Zhang Xiaogang's paintings. At the macro level, these texts constitute a part of the forces driving China's political agenda and societal transformation.