10 keywords for art project; going deep ;-)

[mydogspies]

Hi all,
I am working on a visual arts project in which I explore the meaning of 10 keywords, universal to all cultures and people, visually expressed through the aesthetics of Kanji and design inspired by Japanese comic art.

Part of this are pieces that will have the following words written in Kanji (I have added a few explanations, knowing that Japanese can many times contain different meanings of the same word);

1. CHANGE; the need for change, change of paradigm/idea/concept
2. POWER; power to change, personal power, power of your destiny
3. EQUALITY; between beings, equal universal rights
4. TRANQUILITY; peace, silence, peace of mind, serenity
5. PEACE; as opposed to war/violence
6. FUTURE; future on a personal level, future of mankind
7. TRUTH; as opposed to lie/myth
8. MYTH; not fact
9. LOVE; love for your kin, love for arts/music/literature, love between people
10. FREEDOM; personal freedom, as opposed to slavery, freedom of mind

What I am looking for is the correct Kanji symbols and spelling in the Latin alphabet.

Also, some of you are super pro on languages here!! What would be great is to know what the etymology is behind the Japanese words, and also how it fits in everyday Japanese language. How is it valued, how do people use it on a daily basis? Are some of these words seen more negative or positive and it that case, why?

Since we are on the topic of art, anyone with calligraphy as a specialty? ;-) Would be great to know what variants there are on Kanji for these words? Does some of that have a calligraphic history, any special symbolism? What is the meaning of the essential elements the Kanji symbols are based on?

I promise to post here the end result of the project!!

Huge thanks!!!

 

[WonkoTheSane]

Hi all,
I am working on a visual arts project in which I explore the meaning of 10 keywords, universal to all cultures and people, visually expressed through the aesthetics of Kanji and design inspired by Japanese comic art.

Part of this are pieces that will have the following words written in Kanji (I have added a few explanations, knowing that Japanese can many times contain different meanings of the same word);

1. CHANGE; the need for change, change of paradigm/idea/concept
2. POWER; power to change, personal power, power of your destiny
3. EQUALITY; between beings, equal universal rights
4. TRANQUILITY; peace, silence, peace of mind, serenity
5. PEACE; as opposed to war/violence
6. FUTURE; future on a personal level, future of mankind
7. TRUTH; as opposed to lie/myth
8. MYTH; not fact
9. LOVE; love for your kin, love for arts/music/literature, love between people
10. FREEDOM; personal freedom, as opposed to slavery, freedom of mind

What gives you the impression that these ten concepts are universal to all cultures, much less all people? What research have you done to support your thesis of 'universal keywords?' What cultures have you examined, and how have you examined them?

 

[mydogspies]

Asking the questions I have asked here on this forum is part of my ongoing research and I have not stated anywhere that I am ready. I assume at this point this particular concepts are universal, as is the case with most basic language constructs, simply because no culture lives in isolation and in at least the last 2000 years, trade routes have made a huge impact on the major languages. Excuse my assumption but as I have not yet defined the exact details of my project, is my assumption only that, an assumption. Maybe I am wrong, but that is not part of my inquiry here.

I am happy to discuss the merits of my work once there is a work to discuss, but for now I was hoping on the the help to start somewhere, from the hugely knowledgeable people that seem to frequent this forum.

 

[WonkoTheSane]

Asking the questions I have asked here on this forum is part of my ongoing research and I have not stated anywhere that I am ready. I assume at this point this particular concepts are universal, as is the case with most basic language constructs, simply because no culture lives in isolation and in at least the last 2000 years, trade routes have made a huge impact on the major languages. Excuse my assumption but as I have not yet defined the exact details of my project, is my assumption only that, an assumption. Maybe I am wrong, but that is not part of my inquiry here.

I am happy to discuss the merits of my work once there is a work to discuss, but for now I was hoping on the the help to start somewhere, from the hugely knowledgeable people that seem to frequent this forum.

Terribly sorry to have bothered you, I must have misunderstood when you wrote 'going deep.'

 

[nice gaijin]

something to consider, why try to list concepts universal to all cultures, then express it only in one language, in a medium specific to that language? If the concept of the project is to express concepts that blur the lines between cultures and languages, the art itself should be done in a medium that reflects that concept. I'd recommend re-examining the core concept of the project, or change the way in which you intend to express it

 

[mydogspies]

something to consider, why try to list concepts universal to all cultures, then express it only in one language, in a medium specific to that language? If the concept of the project is to express concepts that blur the lines between cultures and languages, the art itself should be done in a medium that reflects that concept. I'd recommend re-examining the core concept of the project, or change the way in which you intend to express it

Actually, fair point and that is somehow the intention. It's a street art project, which examines the current powers we face in society and the destruction these powers bring. The "concepts" are arbitrary words (but by now means arbitrary meaning) that represent things that are important to all. They are metaphors for awareness so to say. I chose Japanese signs instead of English or German because it represents on a cultural level a "foreign" language to our western culture. It is also an "unknown" language in Europe and thus it becomes rather code and is thus also in a way subversive in our western culture where English rules all. While it is indeed a political project, I chose Kanji also because the calligraphy behind is fantastic and subtle visual art in itself. I represents to me a certain beauty and serenity which in itself is the anti-thesis of modern media and the mentality of "fast and furious".

Anyway, the art concept itself is work in progress. Now I have to sit down and remind myself why when I post in a language forum under the headline of "translation", I have to justify the artistic value of what is simply 10 words I would like to research the proper Kanji signs and meaning. :bored:

 

[Majestic]

Here's my take:

1. 変化 henka
2．力 chikara
3．平等 byōdō
4．静けさ shizukesa
5．平和 heiwa
6．未来 mirai
7．信 shin
8．偽 gi
9．愛 ai
10．自由 jiyū

Agree with the comments that this doesn't feel "universal". Rather, it feels a bit western-centric (although they are all very nice concepts). I think this is why your request isn't getting a lot of traction. We can't get past the fact that your project is flawed from the beginning. You should see the rough treatment we give to guys looking for Japanese translations of tattoos. Compared to those guys you are getting a warm welcome!

Regarding etymologies: the Japanese translation of freedom 【自由】 is said to have been proposed by Fukuzawa Yukichi , one of the outstanding thinkers of the 19th century. He was translating western works on freedom and liberty, and at the time these were not concepts that were central to Japanese/Chinese/Confucian philosophy, and so there were various imperfect options to choose from. The kanji 自由 had existed from well before Fukuzawa's time, but the ancient meaning was more like "selfish" (or so Wikipedia tells me). The word is now widely used on a daily basis, with mostly good and positive connotations - although in some contexts it hints at a bit of self-centered behavior. I think it is one of the words that might not be on a Japanese person's top 10 keyword list.

You have "myth" juxtaposed with truth. Myth in Japanese 【神話】 isn't an antonym of "truth". So for 7 and 8 I've put two opposing words: true and false. All the other words are pretty vanilla-flavored, ordinary, everyday words.

 

[mydogspies]

You should see the rough treatment we give to guys looking for Japanese translations of tattoos. Compared to those guys you are getting a warm welcome!

Thanks Majestic! I guess that my wording from start is wrong and open to misinterpretation. I do simple things in the streets. I could also do it just in English, but by choosing Japanese (or any non-European language) it questions the idea that only English is the ever-prevailing language. On top, using a "non-official" symbolism or language (ie. other than the local official language) in the streets, makes it subversive in many ways. As an example, writing slogans in Catalan outside of Catalonia in Spain already carries a lot of implicit statements, that may or may not be positive, depending on how you see it.

I could have chosen Arabic and that would indeed give it another, possibly political dimension, that maybe would be interesting. But, I chose Kanji because in this case I find the aestheticism fantastic. I could simply write on a wall "CHANGE" and it would be in Berlin (or most probably anywhere in the western world right now) immediately interpreted as yet another semi-political, possibly leftist, one-word slogan. But I could also write "変化" and a completely different set of emotions are invoked, for all sorts of reasons. I bet, without knowing for real, that if I were to write "change" on a wall on Tokyo it would be interpreted differently that "変化", or? It would for sure be the case in Warsaw or in Lisbon (where by the way most writings, art- or vandalism-related, would never be in English, rather in Polish or Portuguese respectively.)

If anything, any discussion about such wide concepts have a subjective side to it and that is where it gets interesting. You mentioning "freedom" having a connotation of selfishness, is I guess a logical outcome of societies where the individual ego is not in the foreground like in the north-western world. I say here north-western, because I can imagine that there can also be different facets to it in for example Latin-American countries. I am myself Swedish, live in Germany with Polish parents and have a great deal close friends and relations with Portugal. I can tell you that already on that level, some of my words will have quite different meaning to some of my friends and family, depending on country of origin. Nonetheless, this is exactly what I want to capture and tell a western audience. Thus the concepts are probably western-centrist, but that is the compromise between presenting symbolism that is unknown to the viewer within a known/familiar context.

I am not trying to propose what is universal. In that lies my mistake in my wording. I am using concepts that are known for us westerners and are important for us to debate, using symbolism that is unfamiliar to provoke a different reaction. At the same time, I want to touch upon the fact that it is highly subjective. But that is good! It is this subjectivity that has gone lost to many. "Freedom" in the context of commercialism for example is an oxymoron, since there is no room for freedom not to. This is why I ask about etymology and how people value these in everyday life. I don't want to take the Kanji out of context just like the tattoo guys probably do.

Finally, in Japanese culture, how would you describe "myth"? It is neither really a juxtaposition to "truth" in the languages I speak, so that is probably the wrong end. But for me myth more like "alternative reality". However it is negative or positive, in political or purely fictional context or not, depends in the context. It's very hard to define, but an important concept to discuss.

Anyway, that become a long one! Sorry for that! ;-) I am thankful for this discussion though since it opens my mind as well!

 

[lanthas]

変化 means change, but be aware that the first kanji is also associated with some negative meanings: 変 "strange/weird", 変態 "pervert" etc.

An alternative for 静 (quiet) could be 平穏 (heion - peaceful, tranquil).

和 is a nice one - it's also used in words like 和む (nagomu - to calm down) and 穏和 (onwa - gentle, mild). It also refers to harmony in Japanese culture, to the original name of the country today called 日本/Japan, and to Japanese-style things in general.

信 is more like "belief", "faith", isn't it? 信教, 自信... The kanji for "truth" is 真, which is incidentally also pronounced "shin".

偽 means fake, counterfeit etc., and 神話 is a myth as in mythology - a legend. A more direct opposite of "truth" would be "lie", for which the kanji is 嘘 (uso).

 

[Majestic]

The kanji for "truth" is 真

Yes, that's right. I meant 真. Good catch.
I liked the look of 真偽 as an apposite pairing of truth/false.

Myth (as in mythology) is another word that seems way outside of the shortlist of keywords for Japan. Interestingly (for me, anyway) it seems that the Japanese word for myth 【神話】 shinwa is another word of 19th century vintage (according to Wiki-sensei). It is made up of the kanji for god + speak. It is used to describe the myths and legends of various cultures, and it can be used as we use the word myth to describe urban legends or widely held beliefs that don't stand up to close scrutiny (i.e. the myth of lifetime employment). It doesn't really work as a synonym for "alternate reality". I think this would require something more complicated.

 

[mydogspies]

So when the Japanese speak of myth in the meaning of "a story the general population believes in" but is not necessarily the truth (like in revision of historic events), what expression would they use?

 

[nekojita]

伝説 ("legends" either ancient or recent) or 通念 (common belief/understanding, not necessarily false).

 

[Toritoribe]

Yeah, 伝説 is a good answer. 話/お話 would also work fine in some context.

神話 is more likely "god + story", i.e., "story of/about gods".

 

[mydogspies]

Huge thanks! You guys have been of great help!!

 

[mydogspies]

One more question, if it's ok with you all. I have decided to drop the word "freedom" since, as rightfully pointed our here, it probably is too ambivalent and subjective. Nonetheless, it has made me thinking for sure.

So, last question, rather than the word "change", what about "alternative" as in either A or B? How is that expressed in Japanese? That would be in the meaning as in for example, an alternative way of living, or an alternative future. Trying to circumvent the possible negative connotation of 変.

 

[Toritoribe]

変化 and 変 are completely different words. 変化 doesn't have negative connotation which 変 has at all.

 

[mydogspies]

変化 and 変 are completely different words. 変化 doesn't have negative connotation which 変 has at all.

Right, I understand! Big thanks!