Recommended Viewing: William Kentridge
I met William Kentridge in 1984 when I moved to Johannesburg from Cape Town. We both exhibited at The Market Gallery in the Standard Bank Exhibition where he showed his drawing “The Conservationists’ Ball” (1985); the triptych describing the white citizens of Johannesburg, at home, in a café and in traffic. Our children Cleo and Alice were together in a playgroup. He opened my first exhibition, “The Jol” series at the Market Theatre gallery in 1992. We were both members of the Artists Alliance founded in 1989 to encourage art education at a time when the majority of children had no access to art education in schools. The drypoint etching below “Meetings bloody meetings”, I made at Caversham Press. It shows William, (looking younger) bottom right, next to the late Rayda Bekker, Bongi Dhlomo, Shelley Sack (taking minutes), Graham Sack, and Arlene Amahler-Rajiv.
“Meetings bloody meetings“ - Drypoint etching, Gillian Solomon (1990), Caversham Press.
Williams prolific body of work over the past three decades (what he refers to as his many “failures”) as an artist, animator, actor, and producer, are astonishing. His insight into the way South African life has changed him, alongside so many other artists who he collaborates with and who have become compelled to make imagery that speaks out against oppression shows how determination to contextualise and make meaning out of difficulty so that it makes us all better people. His “Centre for the Less Good Idea” in Maboneng, Johannesburg provides a creative heart for many South Africans with a deference and generosity that provides a cultural focus that is vital for the body of modern of South African culture and society.
We were both artists who made imagery pretesting against the politics of racism, and conflict. You can watch Williams's insightful video from his website showing him discussing Picasso large painting of Guernica - https://www.kentridge.studio/considerations-on-picassos-guernica/
“Guernica”, 1937 by Pablo Picasso
Images and video used with permission. The artist’s opinions are their own.
