2003--2005
谷文达 Gu Wenda
Ink on paper
178.5*96.7cm
70.3*18in
$40000.00--45000.00
Gu Wenda's practices often centre around the anxiety and confusion brought by cultural divides. Forest of Stone Steles: Retranslation and Rewriting of Tang Poetry (1993–2005) is a “symbolic examination of our contemporary culture’s influence through intercultural misunderstandings.”. Gu selected 15 well-known Tang dynasty poems that had been translated into English by Witter Bynner and created phonetic translations back into Chinese. Hand carved on to the steles, the phonetically translated poems become completely unfamiliar and incomprehensible to native Chinese speakers. This work is a portrayal of his personal experience after moving to the United States. His struggle echoes with many Chinese artists who moved to the US in the 1990s, as well as their understanding of cultural "rereading" and "misreading".
Both Gu and Zheng had spent years in the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now the China Academy of Arts), and thus had many interactions and exchanges during the “85 New Wave” movement. In 1998, Zheng invited Gu to Vancouver to participate in a series of events in Jiangnan, which aimed to introduce Chinese modern and contemporary art to the local community. Gu exhibited his United Nations series at UBC's Belkin Art Museum and realized a performance art work Confucius Diary.
谷文达的艺术实践常围绕着文化鸿沟带来的焦虑和困惑进行。 《碑林：唐诗后著》（1993-2005）是“通过跨文化误解对当代文化影响的象征性考察”。谷文达挑选了由威特·拜纳 (Witter Bynner) 译制成英文的15首家喻户晓的唐诗，将它们再音译回中文。以音译的方式翻译回来的唐诗，即使对母语为汉语的人来说也变得完全陌生和无法理解。这件作品是他移居至美国后真实经历的写照，他的挣扎也呼应着许多同时期旅美艺术家对文化“再读”与“误读”的理解。
谷文达与郑胜天都来自浙江美术学院（现中国美院），从85新潮时期开始他们之间就有不少互动与交流。1998年郑胜天邀请谷文达来温哥华参加介绍中国现当代艺术的大型《江南》活动，谷在UBC的贝尔金美术馆展出了他的《联合国》系列，并实现了一件行为艺术作品《孔子日记》。
