Reva Wolf's Warhol book gets published
Reva Wolf’s edited book, "Translating Warhol," was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2024. The first study of the translations of Andy Warhol's writing and ideas, "Translating Warhol" reveals how translation has censored, exposed, or otherwise affected the presentation of his political and social positions and attitudes and, in turn, the value we place on his art and person.
Both historical and theoretical aspects of translation are taken up, and individual chapters discuss French, German, Italian, and Swedish translations, Warhol's translations of his mother's native Rusyn language and culture, the Indian artist Bhupen Khakhar's performative translations of Warhol, and Warhol as translated for documentary television.
Wolf’s essay in the book, “Being, Nothingness, and the Quest to Understand: An Introduction to Warhol in Translation,“ provides an overview of the history of translations of Warhol’s writings and discusses some key challenges and theories of translation, and her Preface outlines how the concept for this collaborative project was developed.
The book has received strong endorsements: Neil Printz, editor of the catalogue raisonné of Warhol’s paintings and sculptures, has called it “a pioneering book: fascinating and far-reaching”; Iain Boyd Whyte, Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh, has noted that the “challenges posed [in translating Warhol’s work] and the variable quality of the results achieved are the subject of this fascinating essay collection … What would art history be without translation?”; Blake Gopnik, author of the 2020 biography of Warhol, has proposed that “Andy Warhol would have loved this book, because looked at closely … the attempt to translate Warhol … reveals just how deeply complex he and his work really were.”
Photo by Office of Communication & Marketing
Wolf moderates Mis/Communication panel
On the occasion of the publication of "Translating Warhol," and in conjunction with the exhibition "Mis/Communication: Language and Power in Contemporary Art," the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art hosted a panel discussion on Nov. 1, “Miscommunication, Translating Artists’ Words, and Interpretation,” which considered how tone, word choice, censorship, power dynamics, and more have come into play when translating Andy Warhol’s words. Professor Reva Wolf moderated the panel, joined by Michelle Woods (English), author of "Kafka Translated" and co-editor of the Bloomsbury Academic book series "Literatures, Cultures, Translation," and Mercedes Rooney (Languages, Literatures & Cultures), translator of the essay “Warhol in French.” American Sign Language interpretation was provided, and the panelists reflected on how, like other kinds of translation, ASL inevitably involves interpretation.
There was a lively and extended Q&A from the audience, launched by questions prepared in advance by four students—Keara Neilsen, Elizabeth Ruth Charlton Hunt, Isabella Mettler, and Owen Smith—followed by a book signing and refreshments. The event was generously supported by the Office of the Provost's Creating a Stronger New Paltz Together initiative.
Wolf Pens Essay for Book
Professor Reva Wolf’s essay, “The History of the Artist Interview: Conventions, Conditions, Contexts, Collaboration,” is included in the book, "Theorising the Artist Interview," edited by Lucia Farinati and Jennifer Thatcher, published by Routledge (with a release date of September 2024 and a copyright date of 2025). Wolf’s essay, a reflection on the complex historiography of the artist interview, opens this anthology, which has been described as “vital reading for anyone who conducts or uses quotes from interviews with artists.”
