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French to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting / ceramics
French term or phrase:Mise en oeuvre
I know there are several entries for this phrase already, but none of them seem quite right in this context.
Referring to an exhibition of contemporary ceramics:
Mise en oeuvre sur une proposition des Sismo.
Dans ce nouveau contexte, l’exposition inaugurale de cet espace, conçue par le duo de designers les Sismo s’intitule Mise en oeuvre. Elle a pour enjeu principal de rendre accessible la richesse des savoir-faire, la compréhension des techniques de la céramique en jouant des confrontations entre vocabulaire des formes et vocabulaire des techniques.
miser - to bet on? oeuvre - workmanship/craftsmanship.
= something like "Betting on craftsmanship"
Matt's "Ideas at work" sounds good if wordplay is or isn't intented.
Yes, there are several plays-on-word going on. But there is no way to get a short title and keep the same ones. IMO, titles like this are more the realm of PR than translation. These are marketing decisions more than language ones. It's like second hand movie titles - most are horrible.
It says ... exposition inaugurale de cet espace, so isn't it Mise en oeuvre = Opening show. But that doesn't say anything about the real subject/theme. A mystery exhibition then? Maybe visual clues or small print on the poster? Who knows?
On a more serious note, I still think these answers are missing the point. The French says the organisers have called it Mise en Oeuvre. It doesn't say they've called it Pottery in Motion, or Form and Techniques in Ceramic Design, or Execution. To translate it as something completely different from the French would be wrong.
It seems that in spite of my omission, several answerers were able to work that out, judging from their suggestions. Well done and my apologies if I was not clear enough.
Explanation: Slightly facetious suggestion, but I like the analogy with "Poetry in Motion"...
Depends rather a lot on the exhibition whether this would work.
Gilla Evans Local time: 17:04 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 60
Notes to answerer
Asker: Very clever and it would be a wonderful title for a pottery exhibition, but I'm not sure it works here as there is no motion involved. It is based on a comparison between mundane objects and more precious works of art.
16 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
leave it in French
Explanation: I don't think you're being asked to find an alternative title for the exhibition. I'd leave it in French, perhaps with a brief explanation of the play on words (something along the lines of "Mise en Oeuvre, which means 'implementation', or literally 'putting into work'.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 32 mins (2011-05-11 16:06:44 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Asker: I HAVE given a suggested translation!
philgoddard Local time: 11:04 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 24
Notes to answerer
Asker: I agree that it may be appropriate to leave the title in French, but I must give a translation as well, for non-French speaking visitors. I think 'use' is what the exhibition is about (Sorry, I should have included this in my question): Des rapprochements inopinés peuvent de cette manière avoir lieu entre pièces exceptionnelles conservées par la Cité et objets du quotidien.
Asker: I don't see that 'implementation' OR 'putting into work' reflect what the exhibition is about. Can you explain how you see that they do? I'm willling to be convinced!
36 mins confidence:
Form and techniques in ceramic design
Explanation: [30 Euros and cheap at the price ;-)]
... richesse des savoir-faire, la compréhension des techniques de la céramique en jouant des confrontations entre vocabulaire des formes et vocabulaire des techniques.
If that is the idea then the everyday versus luxury thing is secondary.
kashew France Local time: 18:04 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 28
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 42 mins (2011-05-11 16:16:25 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Or scare them away.
David Vaughn Local time: 18:04 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 265
Grading comment
I decided that this best fitted the context . Many thanks
1 hr confidence:
Creations in Ceramic / Ceramic creations
Explanation: Although is not a literal translation, it may be a compact way of expressing the idea for use in a title. I also think, along with others that the French should be left as is, so I would see this as
"Mise en oeuvre..." (Ceramic creations)
LaraBarnett United Kingdom Local time: 17:04 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8
Explanation: Don't know if either of these might work as a title, hence low conf. level.
I feel creativity and mastery might be considered, as they would combine with the design part in the rest of the title (or desEYEgn, to get the 'oeil' bit into one word, perhaps? I have a feeling Sèvres would not like that, though...), and convey the sense of being put to work.
Barbara Carrara Italy Local time: 18:04 Specializes in field Native speaker of: Italian PRO pts in category: 4
Explanation: The designers themselves leave it as 'Mise en oeuvre' on the publicity for this expo English version of their own web site. With the subheading "the daily life and the exceptional under the design's eyes" (their English not mine BTW)
But I would use 'Put Into Practice' or 'Put Into Play' as it reflects this kind ofnexus between design theory, everyday use and the art world.
i.e the play between "art practice" and the "design practice" of Sismo (who are known as "industrial designers") plus the idea of putting ideas into a practical form and putting into play perhaps forgotten objects (ceramics) from the museum in another context.
Explanation: I would leave the title in French, but in the case of the phrase you first mention, one could translate it as 'Realised on the basis of a proposal by ...' Exhibitions are often referred to in this. I actually think the phrase and the title differ in intended meaning, or at least there is a great pun in the title which is not there in the phrase.
Helen Shiner United Kingdom Local time: 17:04 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 189
To me, a one-word translation doesn't work well here in English. Besides, you need to keep the French translation "mise en œuvre", then translate it or explain in parentheses next to it.
They're talking about "techniques mises en œuvre", or "techniques applied". So perhaps something like "Applied: Ideas at work"??
Des rapprochements inopinés peuvent de cette manière avoir lieu entre pièces exceptionnelles conservées par la Cité de la Céramique et objets du quotidien.
Un choix de termes techniques, souvent imagés comme tourner, mouler, modeler, peindre... invite les visiteurs à retrouver en parallèle une sélection de formes du registre du design et des œuvres des collections nationales, anciennes ou contemporaines.
L’équipe de conservation a choisi les œuvres des collections en fonction des techniques « mises en œuvre », des gestes mobilisés pour la fabrication jusqu’à la décoration.
Les Sismo ont identifié de leur côté des objets emblématiques du quotidien, qu’ils soient ou non en céramique. Ils créent ainsi un dialogue entre des univers très différents qui emploient des vocabulaires communs.
The translation workplace 
