das Plastische

English translation: the sculptural / plastic / three-dimensional

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:das Plastische
English translation:the sculptural / plastic / three-dimensional
Entered by: Helen Shiner

21:27 Jun 20, 2009
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2009-06-24 18:54:05 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting / Sculpture
German term or phrase: das Plastische
The German sentence is the following:
"...dass der Künstler längst kein Grenzgänger mehr ist, wie dies noch manche Texte der 1970er und 1980er Jahre formulierten, sondern dass er die Idee des Plastischen in allen Medien und Gattungen sucht, die er einsetzt."
The title of the essay in German is:
"Skizzen zum Begriff des Plastischen bei..."
Any ideas? Please help as I have the feeling that the author not only wants to convey the term "sculpture" but also the second German meaning that is something like: "concretey, vividly in ones mind/memory/perception..."
Thank you
dobri
dobri
Local time: 00:58
the sculptural / plastic / three-dimensional
Explanation:
All of these can be used - perhaps interchangeably

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Note added at 13 mins (2009-06-20 21:40:30 GMT)
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Bear in mind - I'm sure I don't need to tell you - that die Plastik is sculpture. This term is far more often used in GER that plastic is in EN. More often than not 'sculptural' will do. But I understand that sometimes it does not feel as if it is enough, so my advice would be to use the terms interchangeably, with 'plastic' only where you absolutely have to do so. Using it repeatedly would jar with an EN-speaking readership.

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Note added at 16 mins (2009-06-20 21:43:46 GMT)
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Noun 1. plastic art - the arts of shaping or modeling; carving and sculpture
art, fine art - the products of human creativity; works of art collectively; "an art exhibition"; "a fine collection of art"
sculpture - a three-dimensional work of plastic art http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plastic art

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Note added at 19 mins (2009-06-20 21:46:29 GMT)
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I am not sure I agree that 'das Plastische' particularly has the sense of 'vividly present' - perhaps you could give a portion of text to demonstrate why you think this.

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Note added at 22 mins (2009-06-20 21:49:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

See this link for the use of the term 'plastic' in EN:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JjcxddXkJXUC&pg=PA136&lpg...

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Note added at 24 mins (2009-06-20 21:51:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Maybe 'plasticity' as in the 'notion of plasticity' - I think that may be how I would translate the title you give in the second half of your question - though this really would depend on the artist in question.

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Note added at 30 mins (2009-06-20 21:57:32 GMT)
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Er, my name is Helen !!

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Note added at 33 mins (2009-06-20 22:00:47 GMT)
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In the quote you give in your replies below, I would use 'sculpture' for the first instance and probably 'plastic ensemble' for the second. Clearly the text goes a long way to explaining what it understands the interaction between viewer and artwork to be, or at least what the artist is seeking here.

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Note added at 35 mins (2009-06-20 22:02:53 GMT)
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Oh, hi Brigitte - no, you appear as dobri! It is a pleasure.

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Note added at 1 hr (2009-06-20 22:47:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another word which might be useful - tactility. Although I don't think it would quite work as a translation for the examples give here, it seems from what you say that this is the concern of the artist in question.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-06-20 22:50:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Carving brings out the innate plasticity of wood more than modeling, although Gorbaty ingeniously models as he carves, thus collapsing what Adrian Stokes regarded as fundamentally different modes of sculpting—another integrative finessing of the opposites to Gorbaty’s modernist credit. “Carving conception,” as Stokes calls it, “causes its object, the solid bit of space, to be more spatial still,” while a “plastic material” is “freely” modeled, suggesting that space is dynamic and flexible rather than inflexibly fixed “in place,” and allowing a more ‘imaginative communion” with its material than carving a hard material allows.(1) Wood is a solid bit of space, but by reason of its organic nature it is inherently plastic—certainly not as hard, rigid, and intractable, that is, resistant to touch and as hard to work as stone--suggesting that Gorbaty’s sculptures render the plasticity of space (by way of the plasticity of the body, indeed, the plasticity self-evident in the curves of the female body) without denying the uncanny solidity of wood.
http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/artgallery/Programs/Exhibits/gorbaty...

A further notion which may assist you would be that of 'materiality' which in certain circumstances might also be used to translate 'das Plastische'.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-06-20 22:58:24 GMT)
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Untitled, 2005, comports in scale and distilled form to the human body. Through the juxtaposition of five bronze geometric volumes, an exuberance and lightness of the body in motion is conveyed, which belies the sculpture's materiality. In Untitled, 2002-2004, the allusion to human form has all but dissolved, and gives way to the abstract depiction of energy. Rectangles of white bronze are arranged into a complex density towards its base, while two elegant beams soar upwards. This enigmatic construction, previously rendered by the artist in wood (shown at L.A. Louver in the artist's solo exhibition January/February 2004), is installed in the gallery’s open-air skyroom. The nuances of the ethereal patina of white bronze shift with the changing light of its placement; the upward trajectories literary soar towards the sky.

The third sculpture, Untitled, 2004-2005, addresses Shapiro's recent embrace of color in his work. Created from wood, several of the oblong forms are painted with rich blue casein (a fast-drying waterbased paint that dries to a matte finish). This sculpture seems to possess a force that explodes from within and is juxtaposed by the dynamism of two abstract bodies (conveyed through color) in dialectic engagement.

Five works on paper that are comprised of one or more of pastel, charcoal and chalk, complement the sculptures. These works, which present Shapiro’s signature oblong forms in two dimension, play homage to their three dimensional counterparts. With their varying colors, shifting edges and smudges of pigment, the forms seem to dance across the sheets of paper.
http://www.artnet.com/galleries/Publications.asp?gid=141008&...

Best of luck with it!

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Note added at 21 hrs (2009-06-21 19:16:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That's very kind of you, Brigitte. I hope you will continue to contribute via Proz.com. If you have time, it would be good to have your expertise.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days21 hrs (2009-06-24 19:04:22 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the points, Brigitte - I'll share them with Stephen in the unplastischen realm.
Selected response from:

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:58
Grading comment
Thanks to you both, Helen and Stephen. A pity I CAN'T GIVE POINTS TO BOTH OF YOU!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2the sculptural / plastic / three-dimensional
Helen Shiner
3 +1... of processes of shaping, of the tangible
Stephen Reader


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


40 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
... of processes of shaping, of the tangible


Explanation:
Really more of an adjunct to Helen's ans., with an eye to your note re. the vivid, etc., dobri. More on this (purely empirically) in my discussion note. 'Three-dimensional' (see Helen) is also an option I alw. hold open, but might be too dry here (a qn of context & atmo. of whole passage again)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 44 mins (2009-06-20 22:12:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hi, Brigitte - having just read you on RAUM etc., taking that literally & working with 'space and the spatial' might work there.

Stephen Reader
Local time: 00:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 115
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks a lot for your suggestions, Stephen. I'll get back to work tomorrow and start thinking again. The text is very 'closed' but intense - but I think the autor wants the reader to really 'feel' what the artist wants. You've both been of great help. I wish I knew exactly, how ProZ works, what I have to do to give points and what the behavioral codes are (do I sign my real name or the one with which I sign in? How do pictures appear and for whom and why??). So - if I have blundered - sorry and thanks again, Stephen Reader.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helen Shiner: Agree that three-dimensional does not readily fit with the examples given here, tho' often useful. I would be careful about use of tangible or shaping since there are specific terms in GER for those which the author might have chosen, but did not.
34 mins
  -> Thanks, Helen. This has all been Rather Enjoyable!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
the sculptural / plastic / three-dimensional


Explanation:
All of these can be used - perhaps interchangeably

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 mins (2009-06-20 21:40:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Bear in mind - I'm sure I don't need to tell you - that die Plastik is sculpture. This term is far more often used in GER that plastic is in EN. More often than not 'sculptural' will do. But I understand that sometimes it does not feel as if it is enough, so my advice would be to use the terms interchangeably, with 'plastic' only where you absolutely have to do so. Using it repeatedly would jar with an EN-speaking readership.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2009-06-20 21:43:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Noun 1. plastic art - the arts of shaping or modeling; carving and sculpture
art, fine art - the products of human creativity; works of art collectively; "an art exhibition"; "a fine collection of art"
sculpture - a three-dimensional work of plastic art http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plastic art

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 mins (2009-06-20 21:46:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I am not sure I agree that 'das Plastische' particularly has the sense of 'vividly present' - perhaps you could give a portion of text to demonstrate why you think this.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2009-06-20 21:49:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

See this link for the use of the term 'plastic' in EN:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JjcxddXkJXUC&pg=PA136&lpg...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 24 mins (2009-06-20 21:51:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Maybe 'plasticity' as in the 'notion of plasticity' - I think that may be how I would translate the title you give in the second half of your question - though this really would depend on the artist in question.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 30 mins (2009-06-20 21:57:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Er, my name is Helen !!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 33 mins (2009-06-20 22:00:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In the quote you give in your replies below, I would use 'sculpture' for the first instance and probably 'plastic ensemble' for the second. Clearly the text goes a long way to explaining what it understands the interaction between viewer and artwork to be, or at least what the artist is seeking here.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2009-06-20 22:02:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oh, hi Brigitte - no, you appear as dobri! It is a pleasure.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-06-20 22:47:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another word which might be useful - tactility. Although I don't think it would quite work as a translation for the examples give here, it seems from what you say that this is the concern of the artist in question.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-06-20 22:50:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Carving brings out the innate plasticity of wood more than modeling, although Gorbaty ingeniously models as he carves, thus collapsing what Adrian Stokes regarded as fundamentally different modes of sculpting—another integrative finessing of the opposites to Gorbaty’s modernist credit. “Carving conception,” as Stokes calls it, “causes its object, the solid bit of space, to be more spatial still,” while a “plastic material” is “freely” modeled, suggesting that space is dynamic and flexible rather than inflexibly fixed “in place,” and allowing a more ‘imaginative communion” with its material than carving a hard material allows.(1) Wood is a solid bit of space, but by reason of its organic nature it is inherently plastic—certainly not as hard, rigid, and intractable, that is, resistant to touch and as hard to work as stone--suggesting that Gorbaty’s sculptures render the plasticity of space (by way of the plasticity of the body, indeed, the plasticity self-evident in the curves of the female body) without denying the uncanny solidity of wood.
http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/artgallery/Programs/Exhibits/gorbaty...

A further notion which may assist you would be that of 'materiality' which in certain circumstances might also be used to translate 'das Plastische'.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-06-20 22:58:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Untitled, 2005, comports in scale and distilled form to the human body. Through the juxtaposition of five bronze geometric volumes, an exuberance and lightness of the body in motion is conveyed, which belies the sculpture's materiality. In Untitled, 2002-2004, the allusion to human form has all but dissolved, and gives way to the abstract depiction of energy. Rectangles of white bronze are arranged into a complex density towards its base, while two elegant beams soar upwards. This enigmatic construction, previously rendered by the artist in wood (shown at L.A. Louver in the artist's solo exhibition January/February 2004), is installed in the gallery’s open-air skyroom. The nuances of the ethereal patina of white bronze shift with the changing light of its placement; the upward trajectories literary soar towards the sky.

The third sculpture, Untitled, 2004-2005, addresses Shapiro's recent embrace of color in his work. Created from wood, several of the oblong forms are painted with rich blue casein (a fast-drying waterbased paint that dries to a matte finish). This sculpture seems to possess a force that explodes from within and is juxtaposed by the dynamism of two abstract bodies (conveyed through color) in dialectic engagement.

Five works on paper that are comprised of one or more of pastel, charcoal and chalk, complement the sculptures. These works, which present Shapiro’s signature oblong forms in two dimension, play homage to their three dimensional counterparts. With their varying colors, shifting edges and smudges of pigment, the forms seem to dance across the sheets of paper.
http://www.artnet.com/galleries/Publications.asp?gid=141008&...

Best of luck with it!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2009-06-21 19:16:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That's very kind of you, Brigitte. I hope you will continue to contribute via Proz.com. If you have time, it would be good to have your expertise.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days21 hrs (2009-06-24 19:04:22 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the points, Brigitte - I'll share them with Stephen in the unplastischen realm.

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 275
Grading comment
Thanks to you both, Helen and Stephen. A pity I CAN'T GIVE POINTS TO BOTH OF YOU!
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks a lot - the problem however is the second part of my question, i.e. the element of "vividly present" that is also contained in the German word "plastisch"...

Asker: It comes through in the whole essay. In German we can say for example: "das gestrige Erlebnis ist mir heute noch ganz plastisch vor Augen" and the essay constantly alludes to the fact that the viewer is supposed to interact haptically with the sculptures and that then 'something happens' to his/her own sense of the aesthetic as well as to the sculpture itself. Another example: "Der Raum als der essenzielle Kern aller Plastik und die Herausforderung aller bildnerischen Arbeit schlechthin ist kein gegebenes Faktum, sondern er entsteht und definiert sich dadurch, dass der Betrachter ihn sich erarbeitet. Mittel und Methode dieser Erarbeitung des skulpturalen Raumes ist die Bewegung des wahrnehmenden Körpers. ... bis sich etwas ereignet, was das plastische Ensemble vollendet oder ihm den fehlenden Sinn gibt, den es in seiner Entstehungsphase noch nicht hatte."

Asker: Yes, I have toyed with the idea of "plasticity" myself. Thank you so much for your help Brigitte

Asker: Mine is Brigitte - since this is only the second time I'm asking a question, I don't know whether my 'real' name appears and since you've been so helpful, I thought I should sign with my own name... thanks agains Brigitte

Asker: Hi Helen, thanks again - I'll now be able to get through this with all the help you and Stephen gave me. Should you ever need help with German: I'm a German University teacher, working in literary studies and literary theory, often touching on art as well, of course. My husband (American musician) and I (German) work as a team. Don't hesitate to contact us if you ever need help. Brigitte


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Stephen Reader: Thoroughly agree but'd like more (even more) context/text
13 mins
  -> Thanks, Stephen - yes, context would pin it down.

agree  Lonnie Legg: W/o all the additional context, I'd have said "three-dimensional modeling".
21 hrs
  -> Thanks, Lonnie
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