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In Reply to: RE: I'd strongly disagree. Cultures differ in specifics but humanity is posted by tinear on September 16, 2009 at 11:46:02
You yourself just said:
"Sure, those works may have some additional meaning to a native familiar with the cultural significance"
This is what I am saying too. And some works just have so much of that, they can never be appreciated.
I always mention in that context two absolutely marvelous works of Russian literature that not just can't be understood by a foreigner, but even the young people in Russia today don't understand why we keep them in such high esteem.
So the separation from the meaning, from the original sensation, pain or humor, can be not just geographical, but also temporal. There is no way the modern person living in Greece experiences the same vibes looking at Acropolis as his ancient countryman once did.
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Our generation grew up literally peeing into our pants while reading these works, they were universally loved and broadly quoted, dozens upon dozens of their expressions became proverbs. The two authors had incredible sense of humor, typically associated with the Jewish inhabitants of the city of Odessa.
But we were still exposed to the Soviet reality the books described, even though some of it was already lost and nearly forgotten. Our kids, however, by and large, have no sense of that atmosphere, so they mostly "don't get it".
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Perhaps I should take an English translation of Odessa Stories to see that first hand, but seriously, I can't. His other works - perhaps. But not that one.
Well I suppose it gives an overview of the real thing.
BUT the translation was excellent as fare I could tell, of course!
regionalist or nationalist "insider" material which render significant (20%) of the work unintelligible to "foreigners."
A good artist supplies context. I don't have to know much at all about Jewish culture to get the jokes of, "The Owl and the Pussycat" which is rife with ethnic humor.
There is very little new under the sun, Vic. For instance, when I supplied Russian ships, I often drank to stupidity with the Captain and other officers (it seemed a necessity for good business) and their stories, though poorly translated, always made sense. In fact, Russian anti-government humor and that of Brazil surprisingly were the same.
I would submit to you that perhaps 90% of classical art can't be truly appreciated without knowing the mythology behind it, religious texts, historical events, etc.
So yes, SOME art will transcend the cultural barriers... images of Mother, depictions of female and male beauty, landscapes... but even there one must be very aware of the period and school, otherwise the "crude" 20th century images will make no sense next to the classical paintings or sculptures.
One and the same.
I am sure that he too, will agree.
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