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  3. Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting

Arte Povera

English translation: Arte Povera

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:Arte Povera
English translation:Arte Povera
Entered by: Shera Lyn Parpia

19:49 Jun 28, 2008
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
Italian term or phrase: Arte Povera
I have seen "poor art" used but it really doesn't convey the right meaning in English (sounds like it's poor quality work). Is there another term or should I just leave the original?

Maestro innovatore della scultura italiana, xxx si afferma a partire dagli anni Sessanta, è tra i protagonisti del gruppo dell’Arte Povera, partecipa alla fondazione della Casa degli Artisti di Milano.
Shera Lyn Parpia
Italy
Local time: 14:11
Arte Povera
Explanation:
Yes, leave it in English. That's what I've always done.
15,700 hits on UK sites alone.



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Note added at 4 mins (2008-06-28 19:53:47 GMT)
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sorry, I meant 15,700 hits on google uk sites. Above is one of many examples - this one from the Tate, as you can see.
Selected response from:

Sarah Weston
United Kingdom
Grading comment
Thanks to all. The different answers also contributed to an interesting discussion.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +12Arte Povera
Sarah Weston
3 +7Arte Povera (untranslated)
Christian Schneider
4 +3Arte Povera (Italian art movement........
Olga Buongiorno
4 -2franciscan art
moranna (X)
4 -2Rustic furniture
Milena Bosco (X)
3 -3Simple art/Simply art
savaria (X)


  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +7
Arte Povera (untranslated)


Explanation:
You are right about 'Poor art'. Doesn't sound right.
I'd leave it untranslated. Like 'Art brut' etc..


    Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arte_Povera
Christian Schneider
Germany
Local time: 14:11
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rossella Mainardis
1 min
  -> thank you, but Sarah was first
agree  Tom in London: Arte Povera was one of the most internationally famous Italian art movements and is universally known as .... Arte Povera
50 mins
agree  Catherine Bolton
10 hrs
agree  Gina Ferlisi
14 hrs
agree  Hebat-Allah El Ashmawy
15 hrs
agree  James (Jim) Davis: Beautiful 1960s Italian Art http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&q=site:uk Art...
18 hrs
agree  savaria (X)
1 day 3 hrs
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +12
Arte Povera


Explanation:
Yes, leave it in English. That's what I've always done.
15,700 hits on UK sites alone.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2008-06-28 19:53:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

sorry, I meant 15,700 hits on google uk sites. Above is one of many examples - this one from the Tate, as you can see.

Example sentence(s):
  • The term 'Arte Povera' was introduced by the Italian art critic and curator, ... Zero to Infinity: Arte Povera 1962-1972 examines the work of fourteen key ...

    Reference: http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/artepovera/default...
Sarah Weston
United Kingdom
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
Thanks to all. The different answers also contributed to an interesting discussion.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Christian Schneider
0 min
  -> thanks Christian!
agree  Rossella Mainardis: see also http://www.artfacts.net/index.php/pageType/exhibitionInfo/ex...
1 min
  -> thanks Rossella!
agree  smarinella
10 mins
  -> thanks!
agree  jokie
14 mins
  -> thank you!
agree  Ilaria G.Olsson
24 mins
  -> Grazie Ilaria!
agree  Lise Leavitt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arte_povera
35 mins
  -> Yes, thanks for adding the link Lise
agree  Catherine Bolton: Also confirmed by Encyclopaedia Britannica
10 hrs
  -> thanks!
agree  Gina Ferlisi
14 hrs
  -> thanks Gina!
agree  Jim Tucker (X)
14 hrs
  -> Thanks Jim!
agree  Hebat-Allah El Ashmawy
15 hrs
  -> Thanks!
agree  simona dachille
16 hrs
  -> thanks Simona!
agree  savaria (X)
1 day 3 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
franciscan art


Explanation:
The term Arte Povera doesn't quite translate as "poor art", although these artists do tend to work with simple, natural or found materials, often juxtaposed with neon, plastic, electric light and even a refrigeration unit. Though it can have political overtones, it doesn't mean "poor" in the sociological sense either. The dealer Michael Sonnabend beautifully characterised it as "Franciscan", meaning, I think, poor in spirit, and yet filled with profound respect for the world around us.
see also



    Reference: http://www.gaudiallgaudi.com
moranna (X)
Italy
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Catherine Bolton: Franciscan is used in quotations to help convey the appearance and aura of these works, but as your own quotation says, it's called Arte Povera.
10 hrs
disagree  Rossella Mainardis: agree with peer comments
13 hrs
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35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Arte Povera (Italian art movement........


Explanation:
Sono d'accordo nel lasciare il termine in lingua italiana ma proporrei di fornire una spiegazione fra parentesi di cosa si intende per movimento dell'Arte povera .Ti fornisco un paio alcune alternative:

Italian art movement breaking with the past and entering a challenging dialogue with trends in Europe and America

Italian art movement breaking with the past. The term “poor” referred to the humble, often ephemeral materials employed and the anti-institutional quality that originally pervaded this art.

The term Arte Povera was first used by Italian art critic Germano Celant to describe a broad category of art being produced by an international cross section of artists in the late 1960s through the 1970s, although it is now generally used to apply only to Italian art of this period.



Olga Buongiorno
Italy
Local time: 14:11
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Catherine Bolton
10 hrs
  -> Thanks cbolton
agree  Gina Ferlisi
14 hrs
  -> Grazie Gina
agree  savaria (X)
1 day 2 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -3
Simple art/Simply art


Explanation:
What about this?
The latter one is also nice as a title of something.

savaria (X)
Hungary
Local time: 14:11
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  ivanamdb: Arte Povera è il nome di un movimento artistico ben specifico, sarebbe come tradurre Bauhaus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arte_Povera
2 hrs
disagree  Catherine Bolton: It's a specific art movement
9 hrs
disagree  Rossella Mainardis: agree with peer comments
13 hrs
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
Rustic furniture


Explanation:
I found "poor art" several times, probabily bad translation. I would go for this one.
Have a great week end, Milena

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Note added at 36 mins (2008-06-28 20:26:12 GMT)
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Sorry Shera, it must be the heat. I'll have a look in my books to see what I can find.

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Note added at 40 mins (2008-06-28 20:30:04 GMT)
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I found "Processual Art" as a possible translation.


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Note added at 10 hrs (2008-06-29 06:48:36 GMT)
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http://isole.ecn.org/sciattoproduzie/hypmsm_conf.htm

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Note added at 11 hrs (2008-06-29 07:18:04 GMT)
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Note for cbolton:
I indicated "Processual Art" as one of the possible translations. "Processual Art" (http://www.google.it/search?hl=it&rlz=1T4PBEA_itIT273IT273&q... or as you suggest "Process Art" is a much broader movement, and it includes works of German and American artists. I stated "possible" because in reality I would not translate it as well, but in the past I met some collegues who insisted on translating similar terms.
If I had to translate it I wouldn't go for "franciscan art" or "simple art" but for this one, because it is the closest to the definition of the movement.



Milena Bosco (X)
Italy
Local time: 14:11
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in CatalanCatalan
Notes to answerer
Asker: It's not furniture, it's sculpture!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Catherine Bolton: I still disagree. First of all, the term is "process art" and not "processual". Secondly, it encompasses a far broader concept, including the works of Pollock! http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?e...
10 hrs
  -> If one wants to translate it, then processual art is the term. "Arte Processuale" is a synonym of "Arte Povera" and it is used in English as well. Thanks for your remark.http://www.babelearte.net/glossario.asp?id=267. Please read note.
disagree  Rossella Mainardis: agree with peer comments
13 hrs
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