Warhol in translation, Stockholm 1968: “many works and few motifs”

Abstract

The essay explores aspects of translation in connection to Andy Warhol’s first major exhibition in Europe, at the 1968 Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden, viewed as a unit of verbal as well as visual texts. The catalogue performed translation as such, of phrases attributed to Warhol. While translation tends to be understood as a functional mode of transport of original meaning to any position, this study, following the theories of Michel Espagne, focuses on how the show was ‘coded’ into the new space, something which is here contextualised through an exhibition project in Sweden occurring the previous year, Multikonst. The concept of repetition is found as the core message of this translation. It has been argued that the Warhol show had a general negative response locally, but on the contrary, it appears to have resonated well both in intellectual circles and in the Swedish art world in general. In addition, Warhol’s exploration of ‘queer’ identity in his films was discussed openly in Sweden.