contextual studies presentation done

8/10/2019 Contextual Studies Presentation Done

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William KentridgeSouth African Artist and AnimatorPresented by:

Kayliegh Anderson

Sankavy Balasingam

Max Ashby

Emma Morley


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Introduction

In this presentation we will be discussing the work of William Kentridge. He is a South Africanin Johannesburg on the 28thApril 1955. He is best known for his prints, charcoal drawings andfilms. William Kentridges work replicates the history and recollection of Africa and some of tand negative changes that were made and how it has affected the society. The main subject WilKentridge focused on was the German colonialism and how he finds that it is not fair to the cithe country to be discriminated against because of their colour.


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Focused Overview

This presentation focuses mainly on the relationship between William Kentridgeswork andexperiences of his past in Johannesburg and in particular, apartheid.

What follows on the next slide is a video from a documentary called William Kentridge: AnythPossiblewhich was made in 2010 and gives an insight into the way the artist works and whereinfluences derived.

Fig.3. follows William Kentridge: Anything is Possible, excerpt from documentary (2010)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8


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Critical Perspectives

Kentridge made nine animated shorts between 1989 and 2003 and his work is viewed asvery 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 ofthis method What interests Kentridge is Time; its passing, the traces it leaves, the memory thatevents, beings and objects leave when we close our eyes on our past. (Moins, 1998).This couldsymbolise the idea of painting over old memories to create fresh new ones which wouldreflect the political and social issues he experienced, in particular apartheid.

Fig.1. Felix in Exile, film still (19 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 saysKentridge'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 fleehaving to be controlled in their own motherland.


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Critical Perspectives continued

William Kentridge was not a man who worked in a conventional way of the time. In thebook 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 toexpressing the struggles of colonialism. Kentridge grew up in South Africa, which had beencolonialised 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 Teleph


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Context

Colonialism

Colonialism is another country getting political control over a part of land or country and settlingEuropeans were the most extensive when it came to colonialism, in the 1930s colonies and ex-cocovered 84.6 percent of the globes land surface. Colonialism is often a conquest to control otherland and goods, this thus created profit for a country hence why it became so popular. Comparedof Africa South Africa was an economic giant.

Historical context The 1960s were years of growth in South Africas economy. Though the black population is larg

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


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Conclusion

Bullet point conclusion


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Illustration List

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

Figure 2. Telephone Lady (2000) At: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/aug/25/william-kentridge-printmaon 18.11.14)

Figure 3. Except from William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible [Video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX19.11.14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpamsEdCbX8


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Bibliography Moins, P. (1998),Animation World MagazineAt: http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.7/3.7pages/3.7moinskentridge.html (Accesse

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 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&&f=false

http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-e88AAAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Colonialism+in+africa&ots=NZnG4IwthC&sig=ng5Ohi1q7KSpxE94q_woD6k0VI4=Colonialism%20in%20africa&f=false

http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=b-kKTMTClAoC&oi=fnd&pg=PT3&dq=south+africa+colonialism&ots=kLl2swGRvo&sig=IsvCq_N1RrU9oN2tAZ9mYDO0e&q=south%20africa%20colonialism&f=false

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

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