Creative Interpretation Research Articles

Translations for children by Robert Minnullin: creative interpretation and ethno-cultural adaptation

Translations for children by Robert Minnullin: creative interpretation and ethno-cultural adaptation

The cartographic styles of Danube Delta

This study conducts an in-depth analysis of 820 maps with a focus on the western coast of the Black Sea, from Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi to Cape Kaliakra, and gives special attention to the Danube Delta. The research highlights Pietro Vesconte’s critical role in the accurate depiction of the area and examines the stylistic developments over time and their effects on the mapping of the region. It also delves into the relationship between navigational practices and cartographic representation, noting the limited influence of Ottoman conquests on local mapping techniques. The study draws attention to a resurgence in the use of Ptolemaic principles, occurring simultaneously with the adoption of modern surveying techniques, such as triangulation. By concentrating on the Danube Delta and the adjacent coast of the Black Sea, the study provides a detailed understanding of the cartographic history of the area, highlighting the mix of precision and creative interpretation in maps.

Introduction to the Special Issue Commemorating the 170th Anniversary of the 1853–1854 Preston Lock-Out

This introduction to the special issue commemorating the 170th anniversary of the Preston strike and lock-out of 1853–1854 explains the significance of one of the most famous industrial disputes of the nineteenth century, updates its historiography since the publication of H.I. Dutton and J.E. King’s 1981 study, ‘Ten Per Cent and No Surrender’: The Preston Strike, 1853–1854 , provides context and a chronology, and summarises the eight articles of new research presented here. The articles examine women’s impact on the dispute and its impact on them, the role of Irish workers, the question of intimidation and conflict between workers, cultural and literary expressions of the dispute, its significance and legacy, and one creative interpretation of it, using animation. The editors argue that the Preston strike and lock-out had a wide impact, was widely reported, and had a strong cultural resonance, making it a microcosmic episode of mid-Victorian Britain. This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Pragmatic Strategies in Artistic Translation: Balancing Creativity and Cultural Adaptation

This study investigates the communicative-pragmatic aspects of artistic translation, focusing on how translators navigate the complexities of preserving the original text's artistic and aesthetic integrity while adapting it to a different cultural and linguistic context. Despite extensive research in translation studies, a systematic exploration of pragmatic motivations and strategies in artistic translation remains underdeveloped. This research addresses this gap by employing a comprehensive methodological approach that includes descriptive-analytical, semantic-stylistic, and literary analysis of original texts and their translations. The findings highlight the critical role of the translator's creative interpretation in maintaining the balance between fidelity to the original text and the need for cultural adaptation. The results demonstrate that pragmatic strategies significantly influence the translation process, particularly in how verbal-artistic information is transformed to resonate with the target audience. The study also suggests that these strategies are essential for achieving functional equivalence and preserving the artistic value of the original work. The implications of this research are significant for both translation theory and practice, emphasizing the need for enhanced training programs that focus on the development of creative and pragmatic skills in translators. Further research is recommended to explore the emotional and experiential dimensions of translation, as these aspects remain crucial yet underexplored in current literature.

Интерпретация образного строя картины «Сын человеческий» Р. Магритта в рекламном продукте 2008 г. концерна Volkswagen AG: компаративный подход к анализу рекламы как текста культуры

Through a comparative approach, the research aims to identify the ways in which the advertising artist Kirill Chudinskiy (the 2008 Volkswagen AG advertising campaign) interprets the imagery of René Magritte’s work “The Son of Man” and to discover the main means of representing the cultural meanings of the classical painting in the advertising product. The paper examines the features of Chudinskiy’s creative interpretation of the images of the classic painting masterpiece, as well as various means of artistic representation (allusion, symbol, allegory, depersonalization, antithesis, anthropomorphism), which help create the image of the advertising reality. The scientific novelty of the research is accounted for by the fact that the comparative approach to studying an advertising product (poster) allows for deciphering the content of the cultural dialogue between a contemporary artist and the legacy of the past; revealing the aesthetic value of a digital painting; and identifying affective techniques used in the process of creating a mass product and provoking the consumer to perceive the experience of classical art through the discovery of cultural text structures. In addition, the studied advertising product of 2008 by Volkswagen AG has not previously been the focus of researchers’ attention. As a result, it was found that, firstly, the interpretation of the image of the central character in Magritte’s work allows the advertising artist to create a hero of his time, expose his vices, while simultaneously engaging the viewer in an intertextual dialogue. Secondly, by offering his own compositional solutions in the poster, Chudinskiy, to some extent, provokes the viewer, ironically commenting on the subordination of modern people to the world of things, while simultaneously encouraging the viewer to acquire a thing, i.e., a product, through advertising. Thirdly, by transforming the images of the sky, the sea, and man, which are symbolic on the canvas of the Belgian surrealist, Chudinskiy, on the one hand, actualizes the reality of the advertising product, and on the other hand, inspires the recipients with the idea that they will become part of this reality the moment they acquire the product. Fourthly, the creator’s intellectual game with the recipient through the work of art encourages the consumer to decipher the cultural text, i.e., to engage in cognitive activity, relying on knowledge, associations, and memory.

Reframing convict tattoo collections: the comic as critical methodology

ABSTRACT Taking the specific example of Paco: Les Mains Rouges (2014; 2017) – a two-volumed sepia graphic novel by Fabien Vehlmann and Éric Sagot – this article explores the potential of the comic format to destabilize carceral histories via the trope of the convict tattoo. The creation of convict records (including the surveillance of tattoos) leaves a rich textual and visual archive that is steeped in power inequalities and absent voices, but also creative potential. By articulating the comic as a critical methodology, this article aims to explore the potential for the format to develop narratives that counter authorized archives and challenge dominant representations of incarceration whilst drawing creative inspiration from historical iconographies of punishment. In its consideration of creative interpretation and potential for engaging with new modes of collecting, it has applications for historical research, media, visual criminology and museum and heritage studies.

The quality of a button accordionist’s “element” thinking: performer’s text and the sound image of the modern button accordion

Statement of the problem. Modern musical language serves as a stimulus for the further improvement of the artistic indicators of the button accordion performance technique: composers incorporate new performing techniques into their works, expanding the original button accordion literature and integrating innovative techniques into its. This promotes the development of modern musical language in button accordion art. An important aspect of contemporary button accordion art is the performer’s “element” thinking, which refers to their ability to act intuitively, following an inner emotional impulse and musical inspiration. The “element” thinking of a button accordionist allows them to freely interpret the musical text, adding their own individuality and artistic expressiveness. This is particularly important in the performance process, where the instant emotional response to music is key to creating a lively and dynamic performance. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the study. The purpose of the article is to characterize the quality of a button accordionist’s “element” thinking in the process of forming the sound image of the modern button accordion. This goal requires the solution of the following tasks: • identify modern performing techniques of button accordion playing; • investigate the stable and mobile elements of the composer’s text; • determine the components of performing mastery and the qualities of the button accordionist’s “element” thinking. The following methods were used to address the proposed issues: the method of systematizing the performance techniques in contemporary button accordion art; the organological method, which helps to reveal the specifics of the accordion’s sound in the context of new artistic and expressive means; and the structuralfunctional method, which pertains to the analysis of elements of the composer’s text (texture distribution of the material, principles of timbral diversification, use of sound imitation, and specific button accordion techniques). The study is the first experience of considering bayan playing techniques as mobile elements of a composer’s test in performance interpretation. Results and conclusion. To characterize the quality of a button accordionist’s “elemental” thinking in the process of creating the sound image of the modern button accordion, two key aspects were considered: contemporary performance techniques on the button accordion and the stable and mobile components of the composer’s text. Contemporary button accordion creativity employs various performance techniques and effects that reveal the instrument’s versatility and significantly enrich the musical content of the works. Composers and performers, using such techniques as vibrato, tremolo, ricochet, cluster, non-tempered glissando, air playing, percussion effects, register playing, and extramusical noise effects, create unique and expressive sound textures that enhance the emotional and artistic expressiveness of the music. The stable components of the composer’s text include elements clearly defined by the composer, ensuring the structural integrity of the piece. In contrast, the mobile components allow the performer to contribute their creative input to the performance, including timbre shades, dynamic nuances, and phrasal variability. Thus, the quality of the button accordionist’s “elemental” thinking is formed through the ability to integrate contemporary performance techniques and the creative interpretation of the composer’s text, forming their own performance text. This characterizes the sound image of the modern button accordion, which fully meets the demands of the time. Prospects for further development. For further research in contemporary button accordion art, it is important to expand the spectrum of analysis of musical works that contain innovative playing techniques and methods. The prospects for studying the quality of the performer’s “elemental” thinking in the process of creating the sound image of the modern button accordion may include psychological aspects of creativity.

Imagining Embodiment in Karate Kata

This paper is an exploration of how a particular moment in time - the 2020 pandemic - created a paradigm shift that both has and has not affected the way martial artists train. I argue rethinking the concept of virtuality beyond the bounds of technology provides a lens through which to better understand certain aspects of embodied existence that both reinforce and go beyond the physical. I discuss the virtual effects on training in terms of a phrase I call embodied imagination via a phenomenological analysis using Gilles Deleuze, Edward Casey, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. I focus on karate kata and their bunkai, which serve to exemplify how embodied imagination is always already both virtualized and actualized in senses individual and communal. I end with a description of a combination of techniques that relies on narrow line work, utilizing creative interpretations of limited and liminal spaces.

(Di)Simulation of the Bestiary Genre in Animalia exstinta by Esteban Seimandi, Hugo Horita, and Juan Cruz Bazterrica

This article explores one of the latest branches in the evolution of the bestiary genre in contemporary Hispanic literature, (di)simulating bestiaries. The bestiary, a literary genre that proliferated during the medieval period, drew attention with its illustrations and illuminations, as well as the allegories it featured, fulfilling a didactic, Christian function. Although new Hispanic bestiaries published in the past two decades respect the form of the bestiary, that is to say, the presentation of the message with a title, image, and short text, they also offer increasingly creative interpretations that play with the content of the genre. This article explores a subcategory of bestiaries, which through their content pose as other genres for ludic literary purposes. The present study focuses on Animalia exstinta, written by Esteban Seimandi, illustrated by Hugo Horita, and designed by Juan Cruz Bazterrica. Using Jean Baudrillard’s concepts of simulacra and simulation, as well as surface and symptomatic reading, the article analyzes how Animalia exstinta simulates an environmental manifesto from fragments of contemporary Argentine culture and nostalgia.

Artificial Creativity? Evaluating AI Against Human Performance in Creative Interpretation of Visual Stimuli

This study investigates the creative capacities of artificial intelligence (AI), exemplified by ChatGPT-4, in comparison with human creativity, utilizing the Figural Interpretation Quest (FIQ) as the evaluative tool. The primary objective is to assess whether AI can surpass human performance in creative tasks, particularly in terms of flexibility and subjectively perceived creativity. Participants, including both ChatGPT-4 and humans, were asked to provide creative interpretations for a set of ambiguous, abstract figures. The study measured the flexibility of these interpretations and gathered subjective ratings of creativity from independent evaluators. Results indicated that while AI, on average, demonstrated higher flexibility in generating creative interpretations, human participants excelled in terms of subjectively perceived creativity. Furthermore, the most creative human responses were higher than those of AI in both flexibility and subjective creativity. These findings suggest that in these types of complex multimodal interpretation tasks, AI shows excellent potential and the ability to generate semantically diverse ideas, yet human subjectively perceived creativity remains for now unmatched. The study highlights the limitations of AI in replicating the complexity of human creativity and points to possible theoretical interpretations of the reported findings.

The Influence of AI-Based Translation Tools on the Translation of Dr. Ghazi Al-Qusaibi’s Poetry by Saudi EFL Learners

This study examines the impact of artificial intelligence-based translation tools on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' ability to translate a poem written by renowned Saudi Arabian poet Dr. Ghazi Al-Qusaibi from Arabic to English. Fifty Saudi undergraduate EFL students participated in the research and were divided equally into an experimental group that used AI tools and a control group that did not. Both groups were asked to translate one of Dr. Al-Qusaibi's poems, which was then evaluated based on parameters like accuracy, fluency, use of poetic devices, and adherence to genre conventions. Results of statistical analyses found the translations produced by students in the experimental group scored significantly higher on most parameters compared to the control group. While both groups demonstrated accuracy in conveying the core meaning, the AI-assisted group showed advantages in areas like producing more fluent and coherent translations with fewer syntactic errors. Within the limitations of focusing on just one poet, the study provides insights into how strategic integration of AI during the translation process could help learners overcome challenges inherent to translating poetry, which relies so heavily on cultural contextualization and creative interpretation of symbolic language. Further research expanding the sample size and variety of source texts could yield a richer understanding.

Author and narrator in fanfiction community texts (a study of fanfics based on literary classics)

Recent research on Russian-language fanfiction has focused on analyzing the fanfic text itself, exploring its structural, stylistic, and artistic aspects. While the role of the author in the fanfiction community has always been crucial, the current research emphasizes a more comprehensive investigation of the sociological dimension of authorship rather than its literary aspects. The unique communication style prevalent in the fanfiction community challenges the traditional model of author-reader relations, leading to a shift in the dynamics of interaction between ficwriters and ficreaders. This change creates a noticeable gap in the academic understanding of the different forms of authorship in fanfiction. To maintain a meaningful author–reader–original text dialogue, ficwriters introduce a specific narrator persona. Our study, which examines narrators in fanfics based on Russian classical literature through comparative analysis with metatextual information and insights from in-depth interviews, concludes that the narrator possesses both obligatory and optional features. These features enable the narrator to act as an intratextual mediator in the ongoing dialogue between the author and the reader. The narrator seamlessly integrates into the fictional world as a character while conveying the author’s perspective outside the text. This role significantly differs from the conventional concept of a “raisonneur.” The analysis of the narrative structure reveals that the narrator in fanfiction serves as an artistic projection of the fanfic author, blurring the lines between biographical and artistic authorship for both readers and the author. The narrator actively contributes to the storytelling process, providing synchronous commentary on their own work and exercising control over the characters. This aligns with the authorial intention in fanfiction, where the author initiates a dialogue between readers and the classic source text, both “from inside” and “outside” the text through creative interpretation.

“The A.M. Kovalev’s Conception of ‘Just Society’ in the Context of Current Political and Philosophical Discussions”

In modern political and theoretical discourse, the concept of a ‘ just society’ is usually perceived as a normative idea that expresses the notion of what society “should be”. Nowadays, social justice as a political slogan is becoming an increasingly universal requirement made by social movements, political parties and groups regarding the ways of social organization and its functions. Regardless of the different interpretations, it is inseparable from other related concepts, such as ‘equality’, ‘ freedom’ and many others. It also represents the projection of various concepts of justice on social relations in individual countries, regions, and, finally, throughout the world (‘global justice’ on the scale of all mankind). Comparative analysis of the A.M. Kovalev’s concept of a just society and the main trends in the interpretation of this idea in modern Western socio-political theory indicate that the methodology developed by an outstanding Russian scientist can rightfully be considered one of the most promising. Its distinguishing feature is the creative interpretation of a set of ideas about a just society, dating back to the early works of Marx. It is combined with the analysis of the ideas of the Western European Enlightenment, the philosophy of Kant, Hegel and Fichte, the evolution of the social philosophy of the Frankfurt School and other equally influential areas of modern political theory (R. Aron and others). An analysis of modern political theories shows that the dyad “ justice / state” constitutes the ontological core of the political and philosophical discourse, in the structure of which the ideas of Marxism play an important role. In the A.M. Kovalev’s theory of a just society, the various assessments of the heuristic potential of Marxism acquire additional incentives, opening the way to new creative discussions. The article is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of A.M. Kovalev.

Imagination, Embodied Experiences, and Meaning in Supervision

In psychoanalysis, there is a growing emphasis on being and becoming, personally embodied experiences, self-expression, spontaneity, and presymbolic understandings. Therefore, the supervisee and the supervisor search for the meanings of the verbal and nonverbal, presymbolic and symbolic, and mental and bodily therapeutic and supervisory materials. This paper will describe the spontaneous, subjective, and prereflective understandings that emerge in supervision. These understandings require an open dialogue between the participants to formulate experience-near interpretations that feel real. To create an effective and fruitful dialogue, the supervisee and the supervisor should recognize and validate each other as separate and autonomous professionals who view their similarities within the context of otherness. Mutual recognition enables them to achieve higher-order conceptualization and creative interpretations of the therapeutic reality that unfolds in supervision. To strengthen mutual recognition, the supervisee and supervisor can acknowledge their vulnerability as people and professionals.

Hypoxic Conditions Modulate Chondrogenesis through the Circadian Clock: The Role of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a heterodimer transcription factor composed of an alpha and a beta subunit. HIF-1α is a master regulator of cellular response to hypoxia by activating the transcription of genes that facilitate metabolic adaptation to hypoxia. Since chondrocytes in mature articular cartilage reside in a hypoxic environment, HIF-1α plays an important role in chondrogenesis and in the physiological lifecycle of articular cartilage. Accumulating evidence suggests interactions between the HIF pathways and the circadian clock. The circadian clock is an emerging regulator in both developing and mature chondrocytes. However, how circadian rhythm is established during the early steps of cartilage formation and through what signaling pathways it promotes the healthy chondrocyte phenotype is still not entirely known. This narrative review aims to deliver a concise analysis of the existing understanding of the dynamic interplay between HIF-1α and the molecular clock in chondrocytes, in states of both health and disease, while also incorporating creative interpretations. We explore diverse hypotheses regarding the intricate interactions among these pathways and propose relevant therapeutic strategies for cartilage disorders such as osteoarthritis.

Digital assemblages with AI for creative interpretation of short stories

Abstract I demonstrate an approach fostering inventive interpretation of short stories in Literary Studies and higher education generally. It involves constructing an ‘assemblage’—at its simplest, an evolving network of unusual connections for creative outcome. The assemblage of this article combines freshly located research literature, directly and indirectly related to a story’s themes, and/or the personality type of protagonists. Importantly, this assemblage also utilizes text analysis software revealing the relatively invisible (e.g. (in)frequent words, parts of speech, and topics) and Large Language Model (LLM) Generative AI to enrich the interpretation. The use of all these elements helps productively exceed initial intuitions about the story, facilitating creativity. I model the approach using Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Black Cat, whose protagonist is a homicidal psychopath. Specifically, the assemblage here includes relevant software-based research (a corpus analysis of homicidal psychopathic language), non-software-based research (psychoanalytical literary criticism of The Black Cat using the empirically validated concept of transference), text analysis software (WMatrix and Datayze), and the LLM Generative AI, ‘ChatGPT’ (using the freely available LLM GPT-3.5). One use of this approach is as a pedagogy in Literary Studies employing text analysis software (e.g. on a digital stylistics course). Yet given creative adaptability is a key 21st-century skill, with digital literacy—including the use of Generative AI—an important contemporary competence, and with the short story genre universally known, I highlight too the utility of this approach as a university-wide pedagogy for enhancing creative thinking.

Creativity in the Ancient Greek Philosophy: The Politics of Demiourgein

ABSTRACTWhere does creativity come from and what is its purpose? The paper revisits these ever‐turning questions to correct the prevalent but, arguably, inaccurate historical interpretation of creativity as a concept that emerged in modernity. First, I substantiate that a close study of the ancient Greek texts suggests that although creativity seems to occupy a peripheral position in the ancient philosophical thinking, it is a central, yet, hidden, subject of speculation. Second, I overturn the worn‐out view that the ancient Greek philosophy conceives creativity as a God‐given talent breathed into a fortunate few. Last, I demonstrate that a more encompassing understanding of creativity is implied by several Greek philosophers. To achieve this, (a) I discuss the contemporary interpretations of the ancient notion; (b) I examine the historical origin and etymology of the Greek term demiourgein (“to create”) to discuss its relevant uses; and (c) I develop a nuanced framework for conceptualizing ancient creativity and its interrelation to human agency, politics, and social life.

POEM IN MOTION: A UNIQUE BLEND OF EAST AND WEST IN SANDHYA RAJU’S PERFORMANCE POETRY OF MAYA ANGELOU’S POEM ‘PHENOMENAL WOMAN’

Dance is an ancient, universal art form that stirs the souls of the performer as well as the admirers. Dance has the power to heal, nourish, teach, and spread joy and peace. In India, a multicultural and multilingual country, innumerable folk, and classical dance forms have flourished and continue to be practised across villages, towns, and cities. Religious festivals, cultural gatherings, social movements, and youth programmes are incomplete without the rhythm and beauty of music and dance. On Feb 2, 2022, the eminent Kuchipudi danseuse Sandhya Raju launched a terpsichorean rendition of the famous poem ‘Phenomenal Woman’ written by the American poet and activist Maya Angelou and published in 1978, as a tribute to the former’s mother on her birthday. Raju, with her co-dancers from the Aayana Dance Company, made a creative interpretation of the poet’s powerful words, while adding a verse of her own which in turn emphasised the concepts of inner strength of a woman and the depth of mother-daughter bonding. The choreography largely borrows from Kuchipudi, a dance form with its origin in an eponymous village in Andhra Pradesh and founded in the classical Sanskrit treatise Natya Sastra. Angelou’s emphatic paean to the confidence and inner beauty of the woman fuses with the Indian performance art form to weave a mesmerising visual-aural experience to the viewer, bringing in an East-West blend that surpasses the boundaries of language, culture, and race.

Philosophy’s Resurrection: Richard Fishacre on Theology, Light, and the Stars

Abstract This article explores Richard Fishacre’s (1200–1248) thinking on the relationship between theology and philosophy. It shows how, despite constructing what, on the surface at least, appears to be a traditional understanding of theology’s relationship to philosophy, Fishacre in practice offers a very creative interpretation of how the two sciences interact. For Fishacre, theology does not simply illumine philosophy by guiding it away from error. Instead, it steps into the fray of ordinary philosophical dispute so as to uncover novel ways of reading natural phenomena, ones which philosophy, by itself at least, is blind to. To demonstrate how this is so, the article explores how Fishacre appeals to Christ’s resurrected body to justify some of his most controversial arguments in the field of natural philosophy. Two specific areas are considered: Fishacre’s claim that light in medio is a body and his assertion that the stars and planets are made from the terrestrial elements as opposed to the celestial quintessence, as Aristotle claims. Each of these aspects of Fishacre’s physics show how, for the Dominican, theology can, when appropriate, step onto the philosophical plane and help the natural philosopher to discover truths that go against the philosophical consensus.

Islamic Business Ethics Solutions to the Ethical Dilemmas of the Management Accountant Profession

Management accountants were bound by the profit motive of the company. Accounting regulations still have many loopholes for creative interpretation. The objective of this conceptual article is to criticize the ethics of management accountants from several literatures, the phenomena of accounting scandals, and ethical dilemmas. Professional ethics are often ignored because strong fundamentals do not support them. Earnings management is a dilemma problem of an accountant's ethics. Deontologically, this behavior is wrong, but teleologically, the consequences are positive for the sustainability and future of the company and human resources. This article concludes to solve the dilemma problem based on business ethics in Islam where the highest position is the religious rule. Accountants must be able to implement the five axioms, namely unity, equilibrium, free will, responsibility, and benevolence, by holding the principles of ridho and ta'awun in carrying out their profession.