William Kentridge (1955-).

We have to watch the Bloomberg documentary entitled ​South Africa’s Picasso: William Kentridge,

● Read chapter 1, ‘Mapping, Making, Marking: Plotting the Work of Kentridge and Koorland’, an essay by Tamar Garb, in Conversations in Letters and Lines. This is available in your Student Resources here:
Kentridge, W. (2016) William Kentridge, Vivienne Koorland – conversations in letters and lines. Edinburgh: The Fruitmarket Gallery.

Reflection on: “Keep in mind some of the discussion points and ways of using drawing featured in the essay and the video to help you write about the context for your work. Although your interests may not include politics or broader cultural issues you can reflect on the visual strategies employed by Kentridge and think about how your own work addresses your concerns.” (PAD, OCA course book, p.133).

I watched the documentary South Africa’s Picasso: “William Kentridge”/ Brilliant Ideas, Ep.41 on Bloomberg Originals, YouTube, as well as “William Kentridge- “Art Must Defend the Uncertain”/Artis Interview/Tate Shots, on Tate Chanel, YouTube, [accessed on September 3, 2023]; William Kentridge: “Breathe”/Art 21 “Extended Play”, online, Art 21, YouTube [accessed on September 3, 2023];

Tamar Grab well describes William Kentridge’s method: “That is how they live: assembling and marling and mapping piecing together out of the remnants and fragments of history something that is both invented and found.” ( Tamar Garb, “William Kentridge and Vivienne Moorland: Conversations in Letters and Lines”, p,78, online on https://issuu.com/kentridgestudio/docs/kentridge_koorland_excerpt [accessed on September 3, 2023]. In the video on the Art 21 YouTube channel, we can see the creative process behind his project “Breath”, how he assembles drawn images with tiny pieces of torn black paper pieces and, after, with the help of his assistants, creates wind. Hence, these pieces fly away; all this process is recorded on camera. I found the process genuinely creative, intellectual and original. However, I was equally engaged and resonated with his charcoal figurative drawings and the landscapes he does with the charcoal. It was interesting to listen to his explanation of why he likes charcoal: this medium is very adaptable, making the drawn image easily changeable. However, he also likes inks, which are different from charcoal: when you put it on the surface, you can’t change it. I liked the way he showed his working environment and the studio. It is noticeable that he allocates a lot of space for his work, for his arms, letting himself use any medium freely and removing any limitations to move his arms and hands freely while dealing with brushstrokes or assemblage. I recommend the Tate video about him to all art students because he explains how he builds up his artwork, starts a painting, and what Art is about for him. He shares a universal artistic existential sense: Art helps him explore his relationship with the world and the life he is living. Sometimes, it can be political, exploring social issues; sometimes, it is deeply personal and intimate. I follow the same path. I deeply resonate with what he says in that Tate interview about the “artist’s self-awareness which has to be built in the process”. That comes in unity with what I have learned about traditional Japanese painting laws and the philosophical concept of “sei do” – living in a moment with full awareness and bringing this awareness onto the surface of the painting