Jul 14, 2022 18:19
1 yr ago
20 viewers *
Italian term
United States
Stylish, well-researched translation
Native in: Italian 
, English (Variants: US, UK)
Works in: Italian to English
tener dietro al Kairos rivelatore
Italian to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
book
it is an essay about Alighiero Boetti and his work. This is the full sentence.
Ma poi arriva Niente da vedere, niente da nascondere, del 1969, un’opera epocale nel senso che da sola riassume una stagione artistica collettiva. Una vetrata appoggiata al muro (una scultura che si identifica letteralmente col suo titolo), e che consente il tempo lungo della meditazione (che altro si fa, davanti al nulla?), quello che tiene dietro al Kairos rivelatore.
Ma poi arriva Niente da vedere, niente da nascondere, del 1969, un’opera epocale nel senso che da sola riassume una stagione artistica collettiva. Una vetrata appoggiata al muro (una scultura che si identifica letteralmente col suo titolo), e che consente il tempo lungo della meditazione (che altro si fa, davanti al nulla?), quello che tiene dietro al Kairos rivelatore.
Proposed translations
+2
2 hrs
Laura Cincotta
Italy
Italy
Native in English
Specializes in field
Italy
Excellence in IT>EN translation & copy
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: Italian to English, English
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:
4
Selected
keeping up with Kairos, the opportune (revelatory) moment
I believe the author is suggesting that Boetti’s sculpture invites viewers to engage with two aspects of time, “il tempo lungo della meditazione,” and “Kairos,” the opportune, or revelatory, moment. Time was central to Boetti’s work, according to Biografia dell'artista Alighiero Boetti - Archivio Alighiero Boetti: “Il tempo, il suo scorrere affascinante e ineluttabile, è forse il tema unificante della pluralità tipologica e iconografica di Boetti.”
Tenere dietro means to keep up with but I imagine you wouldn’t go literal here. Perhaps you could seek a translation that captures the sense, for example:
A large panel of iron framed windows leaning against a wall (a sculpture that is literally defined by its title), the work toys with aspects of time—chronos and kairos—as we (/viewers) meditate before its transparent, perhaps revelatory, void (what else are we to do in front of nothing?).
Tenere dietro means to keep up with but I imagine you wouldn’t go literal here. Perhaps you could seek a translation that captures the sense, for example:
A large panel of iron framed windows leaning against a wall (a sculpture that is literally defined by its title), the work toys with aspects of time—chronos and kairos—as we (/viewers) meditate before its transparent, perhaps revelatory, void (what else are we to do in front of nothing?).
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thank you!!!!"
15 hrs
Cillie Swart
South Africa
South Africa
Native in English
South Africa
Finance, Legal, Business Texts
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, Dutch to English, Afrikaans to English, and 1 more.
while retaining the idea of an opportune time (Kairos)
But then comes Nothing to See, Nothing to Hide, from 1969, an epochal work in the sense that it alone sums up a collective artistic season. A stained-glass window leaning against the wall (a sculpture that literally identifies with its title), and which allows for the long time of meditation (what else does one do, in the face of nothingness?), while retaining the idea of an opportune time (Kairos)
21 hrs
Wolf Draeger
South Africa
South Africa
Native in English
Specializes in field
South Africa
Related KudoZ points
:
8
[...] up to the moment of revelation.
So, the sculpture is called Niente da vedere niente da nascondere (Nothing to see, nothing to hide) and is a large window consisting of a simple iron frame and 12 glass panes in a 3 x 4 rectangle. Here's one image of it: https://www.archivioalighieroboetti.it/scheda/niente-da-vede...
As so often with writings on art, the text is a little obtuse. Have art critics never heard of plain language? Nonetheless, the sense seems to be that the sculpture, by virtue of its simplicity and sparseness, gives us all the time we need to gaze at it in order to grasp its meaning.
From the ITA Wikipedia entry on Boetti: "Il 19 aprile da Sperone presenta la nuova opera Niente da vedere, niente da nascondere, una vetrata da appoggiare alla parete che invita alla contemplazione."
Kairos may or may not be a red herring. If it features prominently in the essay, and is juxtaposed with other time-related concepts, you'll have to keep it in English. But if not, you can simply convey the sense of something that is timely or happens at the right or appropriate time. It all depends on what the writer means by it.
Like Laura, I would avoid following the ITA syntax and word the entire sentence in a more legible way.
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Note added at 3 days 18 hrs (2022-07-18 13:06:16 GMT)
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Or "right up to the moment of revelation" to better convey the sense that contemplation is on the heels of revelation.
As so often with writings on art, the text is a little obtuse. Have art critics never heard of plain language? Nonetheless, the sense seems to be that the sculpture, by virtue of its simplicity and sparseness, gives us all the time we need to gaze at it in order to grasp its meaning.
From the ITA Wikipedia entry on Boetti: "Il 19 aprile da Sperone presenta la nuova opera Niente da vedere, niente da nascondere, una vetrata da appoggiare alla parete che invita alla contemplazione."
Kairos may or may not be a red herring. If it features prominently in the essay, and is juxtaposed with other time-related concepts, you'll have to keep it in English. But if not, you can simply convey the sense of something that is timely or happens at the right or appropriate time. It all depends on what the writer means by it.
Like Laura, I would avoid following the ITA syntax and word the entire sentence in a more legible way.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days 18 hrs (2022-07-18 13:06:16 GMT)
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Or "right up to the moment of revelation" to better convey the sense that contemplation is on the heels of revelation.
Example sentence:
In keeping with its title, the window leaning against the wall gives us the time to contemplate its seeming nothingness up till the moment of revelation.
One can but only gaze at the titular nothingness of the window leaning against the wall, given ample time to contemplate it up till the moment of revelation.
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