Knowledge through translation
One-day reading group of Vilém Flusser’s essay ‘The Theory of Translation as the Theory of Knowledge’ with artist and translator Rodrigo Maltez Novaes.
The problem of the relation of the sciences to each other is a sub-problem of the general problem of language translation. Physics describes “everything,” just as Portuguese describes “everything.” Physics describes “everything” including what biology describes, just as Portuguese describes “everything”, including what English describes. When physics describes the giraffe, we feel it is translating from biology, and the giraffe disappears.
This is a fragment of the text ‘The Theory of Translation as the Theory of Knowledge’ which was written by philosopher Vilém Flusser in 1983 for the annual journal of the Brazilian Institute of Philosophy. It is translated for the occasion of this workshop at the Rietveld & Sandberg library by Rodrigo Maltez Novaes.
During this one-day reading group, the intention is to host a collective close reading of this text under guidance of Rodrigo Maltez Novaes, and assemble an annotated version of this text which will later made publicly available.
There are limited seats available. Apply now to participate: library@rietveldacademie.nl.
Rodrigo Maltez Novaes is an artist, translator and editor. He was a researcher in residence at the Vilém Flusser Archive, Berlin between 2010 and 2014. Currently he translates and edits the work of Vilém Flusser in English and Portuguese, as well as being the commissioning editor of Metaflux Publishing – an independent publishing project he set up in 2015.
The workshop is initiated by artist and teacher Joke Robaard, organized at the Rietveld & Sandberg Library in collaboration with the TxT department and Studium Generale.