The multimedia artist multimedia artist William Kentridge, who has spread his reach far beyond drawing and painting by turning to tapestry, film, sculpture and even opera, continues to ratchet up his talents even further. Now his latest endeavor, two 2015 multiscreen film installations showcased at New York's Marian Goodman Gallery could not be more compelling. Both installations in the exhibition, 'William Kentridge: More Sweetly Play the Dance & Notes Toward a Model Opera' mark their first presentation in the United States.
In these immersive installations, the South African artist melds film, sound, shadow play, drawings and more. His themes of oppression and social injustice highlight the plight of those desperate to flee poverty, repression and violence.
Played across eight screens, More Sweetly Play the Dance, which was commissioned by the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam and the Lichtsicht-Projection Biennale held in Bad Rothenfelde, Germany debuted at EYE last year. At 17 minutes long, the black and white film spans more than 140 feet across and literally envelops the viewer.
In referencing the danse macabre, Kentridge serves up a seemingly endless procession of real life actors along with his animated figure drawings. Trudging through an abandoned mining site, some figures carry baskets while others pull unbearable loads and appear as cast shadows. Overlaid is an entire brass band playing a dirge-like composition, heightening the sense of gravity.
‘I am interested in political art, that is to say an art of ambiguity, contradiction, uncompleted gestures and uncertain endings,’ Kentridge has said.
The other three-screen installation, Notes Toward a Model Opera, was on view at the Beijing’s Ullens Center for Contemporary Art this summer. For this film, Kentridge first researched dances and model operas commissioned by Madame Mao. The experience of viewing this is equally disquieting and particularly poignant in light of the migrant crisis.
His themes of oppression and social injustice highlight the plight of those desperate to flee poverty, repression and violence
17 minutes long and over 140 feet wide, the black and white film literally envelops the viewer
Overlaid is an entire brass band playing a dirge-like composition, heightening the sense of gravity
‘I am interested in political art, that is to say an art of ambiguity, contradiction, uncompleted gestures and uncertain endings,’ Kentridge has said
Played across eight screens, More Sweetly Play the Dance (pictured) was commissioned by the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam and the Lichtsicht-Projection Biennale, and debuted at EYE last year
INFORMATION
'William Kentridge: More Sweetly Play the Dance & Notes Toward a Model Opera' is on view until 20 February
Photography courtesy of the artist
ADDRESS
Marian Goodman Gallery
24 West 57th Street
New York, New York
-
A celestial New York exhibition showcases Roman and Williams’ mastery of lightingLauded design studio Roman and Williams is exhibiting 100 variations of its lighting ‘family tree’ inside a historic Tribeca space
-
‘He immortalised the birth of the supermodel’: inside Dior’s career-spanning retrospective of photographer Peter LindberghOlivier Flaviano, curator and head of Paris’ La Galerie Dior, talks us through a new Peter Lindbergh retrospective, which celebrates the seminal German photographer’s longtime relationship with the French house
-
Take a bite: Laila Gohar and The Luxury Collection’s ‘Cakes & Candles’ are a sweet treat for the sensesLaila Gohar’s six cake-inspired candles draw on The Luxury Collection’s hotels around the world – where guests can enjoy matching edible confections
-
Don’t miss these artists at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2024As the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to London (10-13 October 2024), here are the artists to see
-
How Amy Sall is highlighting the beauty of African cinemaAmy Sall is highlighting the cultural impact of African filmmakers with ‘The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema and Power’, published by Thames & Hudson
-
Ghana’s artists celebrated in new book by Manju Journal‘Voices: Ghana’s artists in their own words’, from Manju Journal, celebrates 80 Ghanaian creatives
-
Wallpaper* contributing editor Ekow Eshun considers time, identity and cultural memory in Ghana‘In and Out of Time’, held at Gallery 1957 in Accra, Ghana, and curated by Wallpaper* contributing editor Ekow Eshun, celebrates the concept of Sankofa with artists including Malala Andrialavidrazana, Shiraz Bayjoo and Godfried Donkor
-
‘The Art of Advocacy’: Aïda Muluneh’s vivid photographs are forces for changeAt Efie Gallery, Dubai, Aïda Muluneh’s upcoming show, ‘The Art of Advocacy’ (12 January – 24 February 2023) surveys the photographer’s art as a tool for change, and debuts a new work, revealed exclusively here
-
A’strict: the South Korean digital art collective bringing nature to urban lifeAs part of our Generation Generative series, we spotlight a’strict, the artistic unit of South Korean digital media design company d’strict, whose immersive art aims to bring viewers closer to nature
-
Bruce Nauman’s Venice mega-show is a full body experienceFocusing on the American artist's performative 'Contrapposto Studies', Bruce Nauman's show at Punta della Dogana, Venice, gives new meaning to body language – on view until 27 November 2022
-
‘Image as virus’: World AIDS Day 2021 marked with powerful new public filmTo mark World AIDS Day, (1 December 2021), and 40 years since the disease was first recorded, Circa will present VideoVirus, a compelling new film by AA Bronson and General Idea screened on public billboards in London, Seoul and Tokyo
