William Kentridge, 10 Drawings for Projection, Other Faces (2011)
Exhibtion, films, talks & events
William Kentridge (2019)
William Kentridge
3 June — 1 September 2019
© Studio Hans Wilschut
Also included in the exhibition is the film installation O Sentimental Machine (2015), featuring historical footage of Russian revolutionist Leon Trotsky. The exhibition takes place during the Holland Festival, for which William Kentridge is Associate Artist.
In 2015, the South African artist William Kentridge donated 10 Drawings for Projection (1989-2011) to the Eye Filmmuseum. These ten short animation films marked Kentridge’s breakthrough on the international art scene. Illuminating the eventful history of South Africa, these films will be shown at Eye this summer as part of a larger installation.
© Studio Hans Wilschut
William Kentridge, 10 Drawings for Projection, Other Faces (2011)
The generous donation followed the exhibition William Kentridge – If We Ever Get to Heaven at Eye in the summer of 2015. The artist was impressed by the quality of that presentation and the richness of the Eye collection. As a gesture of appreciation, he decided to donate all works from the series 10 Drawings for Projection to the museum.
Brutalized society
A recurring theme in the series – with films such as Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City After Paris (1989), Felix in Exile (1994) and Other Faces (2011) – is the recent history of South Africa. The starting point for the animations is a series of charcoal sketches that Kentridge draws, redraws, erases and thus sets in motion. They allude to events such as the Sharpeville massacre, the release of Nelson Mandela and the abolition of Apartheid. 10 Drawings for Projection (1989-2011) marked Kentridge’s breakthrough on the international art scene as an engaged artist with a deep concern for developments in his native country.
“I have never tried to make illustrations of apartheid, but the drawings and films are certainly spawned by and feed off the brutalized society left in its wake. I am interested in a political art, that is to say, an art of ambiguity, contradiction, uncompleted gestures and uncertain endings.”
William Kentridge
Watch an interview William Kentridge gave upon the opening of the exhibition:
Leon Trotsky in front of the camera
O Sentimental Machine, made by Kentridge for the fourteenth Istanbul Biennial (2015), is a remarkable film installation featuring five projections. It reconstructs the office of the revolutionist Leon Trotsky, who appears in various historical film fragments. For these, Kentridge selected material from the Eye collection, including footage of Trotsky delivering a lecture on the future of communism. From the same collection, Kentridge took fragments from home movies by Nicholas II, Russia’s last czar.
© Studio Hans Wilschut
William Kentridge, Streets of the City (2009) (tapestry)
The exhibition also features a number of large wall tapestries that Kentridge produced at a local weaving mill in Johannesburg. His motifs include collages of maps and characters from his work.
About the artist
Born in Johannesburg in 1955, William Kentridge studied Politics and African Studies at university, and then fine art at the Johannesburg Art Foundation. He also studied mime and theatre in Paris. He made his name as a multimedia artist with his remarkable animation films, charcoal drawings and installations composed of film, sound, music and sculptural objects. Kentridge succeeds with tremendous ease in bringing together various media in a unique body of work. As an opera and theatre director, Kentridge has also worked with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London, and Holland Festival. His art has been exhibited at Documenta (Kassel), Tate Modern (London), Museum of Modern Art (New York) and the Venice Biennale
Project I Am
Kentridge's films are unique and original, but the broken stories behind them are the stories of many. Even today, voices are lost in South African townships, where the history of the country echoes forever. When Dutch filmmakers Miriam Pieneman, Anne Simmers and Monique Groenewoud visited the country, they were inspired. It was the start of Project I Am, a township film school. I Am offers underprivileged young people a medium to tell their story. The films that result from this are often pure, raw and yet hopeful. The students also made a film for Eye, to show how the themes of Kentridge's work are still alive.
Take a virtual tour through the exhibition
© Studio Hans Wilschut
Films, talks & more
The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of films, discussions and other activities.
Watch a dance performance Dada Masilo and Llewellyn Mnguni gave during the opening of the exhibition:
credits
The exhibition is curated by Jaap Guldemond in collaboration with Marente Bloemheuvel.
Director of exhibitions / Curator
Jaap Guldemond
Associate curator
Marente Bloemheuvel
Project managers
Claartje Opdam, Sanne Baar, Judith Öfner
Exhibition design
Claus Wiersma
Graphic design
Joseph Plateau, Amsterdam
Technical production
Rembrandt Boswijk, Indyvideo, Utrecht, Bo Jansen
Installation
Syb Sybesma, Amsterdam
Audiovisual equipment
MHB Event Facilities, Bolsward
Light
Maarten Warmerdam, Theatermachine, Amsterdam
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