Welcome to Est. 1999, the official blog of Abraham Translations. As is perhaps easy to surmise, the name of this blog reflects the year that Abraham Translations was founded.
It all began with the correction of a few texts that had been translated by another time-pressed translator. Within the year, translating had become my main source of income; now, it has long been the only way I put bacon on the table.
I am rather proud of many of the projects on which I have worked.
Est. 1999, basically, is a visual confirmation of past projects, a blowing of my own horn, a presentation of translator-related topics, and an occasional departure into other areas that I deem worthy of presenting. Enjoy.

Sunday 24 July 2016

The Future is Now! The Art Avant-garde of China Conquers the Market / Die Zukunft ist jetzt! Chinas Kunst Avantgarde erobert den Markt (2007)

Many years ago, when China and its art were suddenly getting hip, I translated a treatment for a four-part documentary TV series – this one. Produced by Gebrueder Beetz on behalf of ZDF/arte, the series was directed by Ilka Franzmann and written by Marco Wilms. As far as we can tell, the series was last screened on TV (arte) in 2011.
From the Beetz website:
"In China, 'the' land of globalization and gold-rush spirit, art likewise follows the Circe-song of international capital. Just like the skyscrapers of Shanghai, the prices for Chinese art are skyrocketing to new heights. By now, Chinese artists are being exhibited all over the world, including at important museums in Paris, and are being feted at leading international art events such as the Venice Biennale and Kassel Documenta. In the four-part series, we reveal the background and underlying stories behind the extraordinary work of the leading Chinese Shooting Stars – all of whom are representatives of a generation in upheaval and change."
The individual "shooting stars" given one 26-minute episode of their own: the at the time most-expensive painter of modern China Liu Xiaodong; "the current darling of the Western art world" Yang Fudong; Cao Fei, whose "work also moves to the technological pulse of the times"; and "the 26-year-old rebel" Chi Peng.
Trailer:

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