Acclaimed for the dramatic narrative quality of his work, South African artist William Kentridge transforms the traditional medium of charcoal drawing by filming drawn and erased depictions of his work. Presented as film, the hand of the draftsman is seen in the charcoal lines, smudges, and silhouettes--leaving traces of time across the moving images.
The four films presented in this exhibition, the Drawings for Projection series, depict the fictional Jewish antagonists Soho Eckstein and Felix Teitelbaum, who begin as alteregos of each other. While the latter is initially a partial self-portrait, the artist complicates this, as protagonist and antagonist exchange attributes. The characters metaphorically play out the social, political, and moral legacy of apartheid as they go about their lives. Kentridge's filmed narratives explore politically specific themes in recent South African history, while addressing personal and universal concerns; the nature of memory, greed, love, and jealousy.
Drawings for Projection series
Mine
5 minutes, 49 seconds
Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City after Paris
8 minutes, 2 seconds
Sobriety, Obesity & Growing Old
8 minutes, 15 seconds
Monument
3 minutes, 11 seconds
William Kentridge (South African, b. 1955)
Drawings for Projection Series, 1989-91
"Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City after Paris"
(8 minutes, 2 seconds)
"Mine" (5 minutes, 49 seconds)
"Monument" (3 minutes, 11 seconds)
"Sobriety, Obesity & Growing Old"
(8 minutes, 15 seconds)
16mm animated film transferred to videodisc,
ed. 3/10
The Jewish Museum, New York, Purchase:
Mr. and Mrs. George Jaffin Fund, Fine Arts
Acquisition Committee Fund, and Lillian
Gordon Bequest, 2001-12
