I commissioned Sarah McGavran, to provide this new translation of Tauber-Arp’s essay as she is an expert translator of European Modernist texts. Tauber-Arp’s essay takes the form of a series of of carefully composed design instructions. I collaborated on the translation to ensure it captured the nuances of the original text.

During my Arp-Fellowship residency in May 2018, I discovered a translation of ‘Remarks on Instruction in Ornamental Design’ in English in a catalogue published by the Museo Picasso ‘Avant – Garde Pathways’ and realised that there was a need for a new translation. With my deep knowledge of what one gets from thinking through making, by carrying out the instructions, I realised that a new translation was needed to pay more attention to meanings revealed through translation, style and critical evaluation, providing a new and timely translation of her essay.

In dialogue with the Hans Arp und Sophie Taeuber–Arp Stiftung I commissioned and worked with the art historian and translator Dr Sarah McGavran to produce a new translation that reflects a more nuanced interpretation of Taeuber-Arp’s essay from 1922.
I examined the original writing in German of Sophie Taeuber-Arp and highlighted specific terminology such as form/shape, and colour theory that needed to be addressed, and better understood in English. In dialogue we revised the text. Sarah McGavran’s contribution helped to refine the English translation.