(William
Kentridge talks to photographer and filmmaker Adrian Steirn)
Watch South Africa’s most celebrated
artist, filmmaker and performer William Kentridge talk candidly about ‘his’
South Africa in 21 Icons, this evening
(November 3) on SABC3 at 18h57.
Kentridge’s iconic visual commentary about
the challenging South African landscape has inspired and continues to inspire
generations of South Africans.
21
Icons South Africa is a celebratory look at this
country’s icons, those men and women who have inspired us and continue to do so
in a way that makes us think about the remarkable journey we have taken as a
nation, from suppression to democracy. A concept lead by photographer Adrian
Steirn and his talented team, 21 Icons
depicts these South African ‘heroes’ through a series of short films and
portraits, which ultimately capture their incredible spirits.
Having already witnessed the fascinating
narratives of 14 icons, from world famous politicians and musicians like Nelson
Mandela and Johnny Clegg to sports heroes such as Gary Player, it is Kentridge’
s turn to be revered in black and white celluloid and print. Steirn shot the
artist with a single ten-second exposure, capturing the icon in his studio
three times, paying tribute to the multimedia nature of his work for which he
his is famed. “The thing that one has to understand is that if you’re the
subject of a portrait you’ll rarely like it,” says Kentridge when he is
interviewed by Steirn. “Technically though, I’m extremely impressed with how
simply and well a triple exposure works. It’s similar to work that I’m
interested in, but it is very nice to see it being done at a very different
technical level and with a very different skill and achievement of doing it.”
Kentridge was born into the struggle to
parents who were anti-apartheid lawyers. He reminisces to Steirn, “I have
memories of the mulberry tree in the garden where I grew up, the taste of a
white cape peach in the summers and the beach at Plettenberg Bay.” He also
remembers the shock of opening, what he thought was a yellow box of chocolates
but was in fact a Kodak box containing 8x10 glossy black and white photographs
of the people who had been shot at Sharpeville. “My father had them in his
office as he was representing the families of the people shot in the massacre.
It was quite a transformation of how the world occupies, from expecting the
chocolate to finding an exit wound of someone with their chest blown up.”
So, he learnt at an early age to question
structural impositions, which steered him towards attaining a degree in
Politics and African Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1976. He
then went on to study art at the Johannesburg Art Foundation, in 1978, after
which he gained experience in the film arena working as a set designer for
various productions. He also taught design printing until he moved to Paris in
1981, where he studied drama at the famous École Jacques
LeCoq.
It was during the 80s while directing TV
series and features films that Kentridge began making the hand-drawn animated
films, for which he is famed. “If people ask me what I do as an artist I say it
usually starts with drawings and sometimes those drawings are filmed and that
becomes an animated film and sometimes those films are used as backdrops in
theatre productions and then the piece exists on stage. And sometimes those
drawings become three dimension, become sculptures, but at one point or another
everything starts as a drawing,” he tells Steirn.
Since the 90s, Kentridge has made films
about the end of the Apartheid system, the first elections and the powerful
work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which he constantly
highlights the complex situation, which best describes a post-apartheid South
Africa. And while the famous artist is known for his work in film and drawing,
he is just as prolific on the theatre scene.
Like all the portraits of the individuals
in the 21 Icons South Africa series,
Kentridge’ s signed portrait will be auctioned at the end of the series and the
proceeds donated to the charity of his choice.
21
Icons South Africa is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz
South Africa, Nikon and Deloitte and supported by The Department of Arts &
Culture as a nation-building initiative.
Public participation is invited on Twitter:
@21icons; www.21icons.com
and www.facebook.com/21icons.
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