William Kentridge

South African Artist and Animator

Presented by:
Kayliegh Anderson
Sankavy Balasingam
Max Ashby
Emma Morley

Introduction
In this presentation we will be discussing the work of William Kentridge. He is a South African artist born
in Johannesburg on the 28th April 1955. He is best known for his prints, charcoal drawings and animation
films. William Kentridges work replicates the history and recollection of Africa and some of the positive
and negative changes that were made and how it has affected the society. The main subject William
Kentridge focused on was the German colonialism and how he finds that it is not fair to the citizens of
the country to be discriminated against because of their colour.

Focused Overview
This presentation focuses mainly on the relationship between William Kentridges work and the
experiences of his past in Johannesburg and in particular, apartheid.

What follows on the next slide is a video from a documentary called William Kentridge: Anything is
Possible which was made in 2010 and gives an insight into the way the artist works and where his
influences derived.

Fig.3. follows William Kentridge: Anything is Possible, excerpt from documentary (2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8

Critical Perspectives

Kentridge made nine animated shorts between 1989 and 2003 and his work is viewed as
very personal with much reference to his past. He worked in charcoal, on one sheet of
paper, adapting the drawing between frames to create movement. Phillipe Moins say of
this method What interests Kentridge is Time; its passing, the traces it leaves, the memory that
events, beings and objects leave when we close our eyes on our past. (Moins, 1998). This could
symbolise the idea of painting over old memories to create fresh new ones which would
reflect the political and social issues he experienced, in particular apartheid.

William Kentridges style of art is very thought provoking and especially when he
emphases on the issues in South Africa back from 1960. Laura Cumming says
Kentridge's figures are often trapped by their own frustrated movements, sucked up by the showerhead,
strapped forever to the swivel chair in the office. Some seem to grow their own cages, imprisoned by guilt and
doubt. (Cumming, L 2013) William is trying express the struggles and hardships through
these figures showing us how the people had to live,trapped in a cage nowhere to flee
having to be controlled in their own motherland.

Fig.1. Felix in Exile, film still (1994)

Critical Perspectives continued

William Kentridge was not a man who worked in a conventional way of the time. In the
book William Kentridge, Kentridge himself says Much of what was contemporary in Europe and
America during the 1960s and 1970s seemed distant and incomprehensible to me (Kentridge,
unknown). Kentridge not being interested or influenced by the west instead turned to
expressing the struggles of colonialism. Kentridge grew up in South Africa, which had been
colonialised by the British; because of this the black people living there originally were
treated poorly and were made to follow laws of segregation. Living and working in the 60s
Kentridge saw the effect of apartheid first hand. Not agreeing with this segregation and
poor treatment he made films such as Johannesburg to illustrate this.

Fig.2 Telephone Lady , (2000)

Context
Colonialism

Colonialism is another country getting political control over a part of land or country and settling into it.

Europeans were the most extensive when it came to colonialism, in the 1930s colonies and ex-colonies
covered 84.6 percent of the globes land surface. Colonialism is often a conquest to control other peoples
land and goods, this thus created profit for a country hence why it became so popular. Compared to the rest
of Africa South Africa was an economic giant.

Historical context

The 1960s were years of growth in South Africas economy. Though the black population is larger than the

white apartheid is now put in place. This meant that the two were segregated and that black people were
legally allowed to be treated differently. Many events happen in the decades of the 60s and 70s that relate to
this. For example the capture of Nelson Mandela that happened in 1962.

Conclusion

Multiple disciplines (charcoal, animation and prints)

Work was inspired by colonialism and themes of racial inequality

Other themes include history of Africa

Rejected conventional "Western" artistic values
Work was detailing the struggle of people

Illustration List

Figure 1. Felix in Exile, (1994) [film still] At: http://www.artishock.cl/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/William-Kentridge-vi%CC%81deo-Felix-inexile-1994.jpg (Accessed on 13.11.14)

Figure 2. Telephone Lady (2000) At: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/aug/25/william-kentridge-printmaker-review (Accessed

on 18.11.14)

Figure 3. Except from William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible [Video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8 (Accessed on
19.11.14)

Bibliography
Moins, P. (1998), Animation World Magazine At: http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.7/3.7pages/3.7moinskentridge.html (Accessed on 11.11.14)
McCrickard, Kate (2012) William Kentridge. London: Tate Publishing
Museum of Contemp. Art, Chicago, New York (2001) William Kentridge. Chicago and New York: Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York

Cameron, Dan, (1999) William Kentridge. London: Phaidon Press

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kentridge-johannesburg-2nd-greatest-city-after-paris-t07482/text-summary

http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MMt-

AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP4&dq=Colonialism+&ots=sbmTofatds&sig=mhKg6adoqsR5c_xoW2oif8Y5YXs#v=onepage&q=Colonialism
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http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-

e88AAAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Colonialism+in+africa&ots=NZnG4IwthC&sig=ng5Ohi1q7KSpxE94q_woD6k0VI4#v=onepage&q
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http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=b-

kKTMTClAoC&oi=fnd&pg=PT3&dq=south+africa+colonialism&ots=kLl2swGRvo&sig=IsvCq_N1RrU9oN2tAZ9mYDO0zaE#v=onepag
e&q=south%20africa%20colonialism&f=false

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/aug/25/william-kentridge-printmaker-review ( Accessed on 18/11/14)