Tricky Attributions

Friday was frustrating. A sudden unexplained spike in the analytics for an old blog revealed a copy pirate. Research lead to further discoveries in the murky waters of SEO and Google Analytics.

My blogging efforts were being redirected to another site. Grr!

The site even claimed to be “honest”. Double grr!

It was by no means certain that Google would give my site precedence. Triple grr!

In a black mood, I was glad to get out for the evening. I headed for some Italian culture at the Royal Academy of Arts. Little did I realise that that the tricky theme of attribution was to continue…

Venetian Artists

The Royal Academy of Arts is currently showing the works of early 16^th century Venetian artists. The exhibition is entitled “In the Age of Giorgione”. Our expert guide explained that all the paintings in the collection had been attributed to Giorgione at some time.

Art detective work lead to reflections on attributing and crediting translators and copywriters for their online work. Let me explain…

Guided Tour

Our guide explained that pretty much everything we know about Giorgione could be written on the back of a postage stamp. We know that he was born in Castelfranco Veneto. We don’t know the exact date, although we believe somewhere around 1478. We know that he lived and worked in Venice. He died in his early thirties, probably of the plague. 

The collection brings together paintings from a 10-year period in Venetian art. There was a whole new generation of artists. If we cannot be sure exactly which paintings are Giorgione’s, we do know that he had a new approach that influenced the others.

New Approach

Giorgione introduced a new focus on the sitter’s hands. He painted symbolic objects to reflect the sitter’s personality. There was an attempt to depict the sitter’s state of mind and introduce a narrative element. His paintings do not show underdrawings. Instead he painted directly onto the canvas while watching the sitter. As a result, his portraits give us the feeling of capturing a real individual. They do not stare absently into the distance. Our eyes meet.

False Attributions

Our guide drew our attention to the addition of landscapes into drawings. He stressed how some figures depicted are set within the landscape, rather than it merely being a backdrop. In the past, the presence of a landscape meant that paintings were attributed to Giorgione. In the 1900s a hundred paintings were attributed to him, now just 40.

Clarity is difficult. A list of 15 works was drawn up 15 years after his death. Only 3 descriptions are recognisable. We know some paintings were lost or are in too poor a condition to act as good verification. We know he shared a studio. We are told that he fell out with Titian. Unfortunately, the source is considered suspect and only offers a one-sided viewpoint.

Two of the gallery paintings demonstrated the difficulties of attribution very well. The altarpiece of the Virgin and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Mark and a Donor showed three different styles. The most engaging characters are Saint Peter and Saint Mark looking at each other. The donor in the foreground looks wooden by contrast and the way his hands touch the baby’s foot looks awkward. The Madonna and child lack the finesse of the two saints. Even worse is the shadow of a figure that is not even in the painting. This is a panel attributed to Bellini. It is part of a missing triptych and evidently the work of more than one artist of varying talent.

Ah, but it gets worse… Il Tramonto turns out to be a hotchpotch of paintings. A nightmare restoration.

Judge for yourself

At the end of his talk, our guide invited us to look again at all the paintings and ignore the attributions in the labels alongside. Compare the paintings. Is it possible for one artist to change his style so much in just 5 years?

Translation Memory

I found the guided tour intriguing. As I came away, I couldn’t help thinking about all the discussions in the translation world over who owns a translation memory. When a translation is divided up for the sake of speed, it often ends up like Bellini’s Virgin and the Child. Good in parts, but even the good parts are spoilt by the failure to maintain a consistent style. Some translations can end up like Il Tramonto – a case of too many cooks spoilt the broth.

Creative Influence

Creativity is generally a singular rather than a collective activity. A consensus approach can kill creativity. However, the creativity of one artist, translator or writer can inspire the creativity of another. While Giorgione died young, Titian was influenced by him and went on to develop some of his ideas.

Digital Attribution

Returning to the modern digital world, I love how one blog can influence a whole series of others. I hope that genuine authors will get the credit for their ideas and work, rather than the “pirates”.

At the AsLing 2015 Conference, Jaap van der Meer of TAUS mentioned that Oracle are working on a system that could identify the effectiveness of individual phrases. Now, it strikes me that this might identify exactly who is responsible for the copy with the most effective sales conversions. Such attributions could lead to fairer remuneration or a “bonus” for the best in the profession. The best work will be known, attributable and visible.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is an 
entrepreneurial French
to English translator,
transcreator, copywriter,
and digital marketer.

For further information see
Anglicity's website

Menton's Chinese Fête du Citron

Menton's Lemon Festival takes place annually between mid-February and early March every year. I was lucky to visit the 82nd Fête du Citron during the February half-term of 2015.

According to legend the first lemon tree took root in Menton after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Lemons thrive in the mild climate and soil in this Southern French coastal town. The locals boast about the rich yellow colour and acidity of their fruit.

The 2015 Lemon Festival had a Chinese theme. It was also inspired by the French movie director Philippe de Broca and novelist Jules Verne.

Despite the drizzle and chill air, we enjoyed watching the carnival parade through the streets on the first full day of our holiday.

It takes more than a little drizzle and a nip in the air to keep hardy Brits away. We were surprised to get covered in confetti too as the floats and walking participants went by.

Dancers circling round in Menton's carnival parade

The floats looked amazingly colourful despite the lack of sunshine. As we soon discovered, the Lemon Festival includes a lot of oranges too. I particularly liked the goat float. A huge goat made out of lemons and oranges represented 2015 as the Chinese Year of the Goat.

The floats and dancers largely had a Chinese theme. However, we also noted participants from various other countries like neighbouring Italy and Switzerland. There were lots of Italians in the crowd too.

The Hong Kong Youth Marching Band were brilliant. We saw the very cheerful young group again a few days later in the local supermarket.

Our intended visit to the Garden of Lights in the Biovès Garden was cancelled due to heavy rain. No fuss was made about a refund. We still managed to take a peak at the amazing head of the dragon raised high above the boundaries of the garden. The amazing dragon picture from the entrance appears on my Google+ account profile to this day (see top photo).

The highlight of our stay was our daytime visit to the Biovès Garden. We were able to see the enormous dragon at close quarters. Even his claws on the ground were huge. We marvelled at the skill and time that it must have taken to make all the wonderful orange and lemon figures.

On closer inspection we could see that a staggering number of elastic bands held the fruit in place. The patterns and details were fantastic. You can see and example below.

This year's Fête du Citron finishes on 2nd March. It has an Italian cinema theme.  I wonder what next year's theme will be? Well worth another visit.

Japanese Tea Ceremony

The Japanese Galleries at the British Museum in London are sponsored by the Mitsubishi Group. In one corner sits a small Japanese tea house. I witnessed a Japanese ceremony there on 7th August.

Urasenke Foundation
Three students from the Urasenke Foundation kindly demonstrated and explained all the Japanese tea ceremony's details. There was so much interest that there were not enough seats available for everyone. We were happy to sit and listen on the floor. We all learnt that there is so much more to the ceremony than the drinking of tea. Humility is an especially important part of the process.

Chado
Our presenter kindly explained that the Japanese word "Chado" is formed of two parts. "Cha" means "tea"; "do" means "way" or "path". The Chado ceremony thus comes to mean "the way of tea".

Two guests were invited to the tea ceremony. One was one of the Urasenke Foundation's students to show the way; the other was invited to follow her from the gathered audience.

The two guests had to remove their shoes before entering the tea house. The British Museum's Japanese tea house is a typical 16th century design, although it is not a life-size version.

Humility
Guests have to crawl through a small entrance to enter the tea house. The entrance is just 72cms in height. The need to crawl into the tea house is supposed to remind guests to be humble and show humility towards everyone inside. No matter how powerful you are, you are still expected to show an attitude of humility towards your host and other guests. Even a great Samurai warrior would have been expected to remove his weapons on entry and crawl inside.

Once inside, the two guests looked at the various items used in the tea preparation. They were offered a sweet tea first, before any other tea.

Chinese Medicinal Origin

Our presenter explained that tea came to Japan from China. It was originally taken as a medicine. As a result, you speak of 1 or 2 "doses" of tea in Japanese rather than "cups" of tea.

Meditation and Purity

The tea ceremony involves a period of meditation. All the host's actions were measured, calm and respectful in preparing the tea for her guests. She took great care in cleaning all the various tea items - bowls, tea whisk, spoon, etc. She used the procedure laid down by the Tea Master and his successors in the 16th century. Chado has its roots in the "clarification" process from the Shinto religion. Before entering a Shinto temple, it is important to wash your hands and mouth. It is a time to be pure in both mind and soul.

Matcha Production Process

Our presenter explained that the tea used in the ceremony is a powdered green tea called "matcha". Tea production starts in May. Only the best leaves are picked when they are still just buds. They are steamed, dried and left in a dark place for 6 months. Then, they are ground into a fine powder. No machinery is used. The grinding is carried out with a stone by hand.

This process develops and adds depth to the tea's flavour. As the tea is powdered, no part is lost. The tea has a clear, clean colour. It keeps all its vitamins as it has never been exposed to the sun. It is also reputed to have anti-ageing properties.

Bowl turning
The guests bow to thank their host for the tea and show their appreciation before drinking. It is very important to pass the tea bowl with the front facing forwards. We saw how the tea bowl was turned in drinking, as passed between host and guest and returned after drinking by the guests to the host.

The front of the tea bowl usually bears a pattern. In passing the bowl with the front facing forwards, the host shows the best part to the guest. The guest drinks from the side. After drinking, the guest turns the front of the bowl back to face them to see the best part again. Then, the bowl is turned to face the host as it is returned.

Our presenter likened this procedure to how we would return a book to someone. We return it facing right way for them to read the words on the cover.

Mindful Atmosphere
If you are ever invited into a tea house in Japan, you are expected to be humble. You should not wear any jewellery at all. No watches either. You should put any jewellery or watches away in a pocket out of sight. You should be mindful of your five senses and enjoy the beauty of nature. You should not wear any strong perfume or aftershave as this would destroy the atmosphere.

It was not permitted to film the tea ceremony or take photos during the presentation. Chado is not a religion, yet it contains elements of both Buddhism and Shintoism.

At the end of Chado, the hostess cleaned all the utensils and bowls. She put them all back as they were at the beginning of the ceremony.

Questions
Our presenter answered various questions from the fascinated audience at the end. She described how the tea's taste might appear bitter at first, before a fuller flavour comes through as with coffee.

She was particularly respectful and attentive in answering the questions of children at the front. She explained that the tea looked like a frothy green version of cappuccino.

How much closer the world seems in the 21st century.  A familiar Italian beverage can help British children, (and other nationalities), understand Japanese tea. 

The Japanese tea ceremony provided some welcome calm within the British Museum heaving with summer holiday visitors from all over the world. Although not mentioned, a time of humble reflection was a fitting way to start a weekend commemorating the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombs of 70 years ago.

Many thanks to the Urasenke Foundation.