Every documenta has a favorite. An artist whose artwork presented at the documenta stands out and is particularly well-liked, an artist whom visitors find especially great, one about whom the media report extensively both before and after the event, one who simply arouses a great deal of general interest.
At documenta 13,William Kentridge was probably the artist who garnered the highest level of public attention, and everyone's "favorite artwork" was his work "The Refusal of Time" .
If one were to now truly explore this path, what would likely follow is a complicated outline of economic influences, art-theoretical disputes, and networks between art and business, in order to sketch the usual movements in the run-up to documenta.
Such a sketch would be of interest to people who have financial interests in the art world and who would benefit from a preview of the sale.
William Kentridge at an exhibition opening in Melbourne on March 7, 2012; by Peter Campbell [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
It is not so interesting for the average art lover; in fact, such a view would most likely be more likely to spoil his enjoyment of art.
The average art lover doesn't need to concern themselves with such analyses; rather, they have the freedom to simply look at the art, whether it's at documenta or can only be viewed somewhere else entirely.
If this art lover is particularly fond of a certain artist, he might wonder why that artist is never invited to documenta. No one outside the art world knows the answer; the art lover would have to ask the documenta organizers.
William Kentridge, the darling of documenta 13, will probably be unable to answer the question of exactly how he became a darling. What is certain is that he cannot be linked to any pre-existing power plays; he comes from afar and is definitely not one of those artists for whom maximum marketing can be a personal gain.
William Kentridge – a critical mind
William Kentridge was born on April 28, 1955, in Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa. He came from a committed family; his parents belonged to the upper middle class and, as lawyers, saw it as a duty of conscience to defend disadvantaged Black people in apartheid trials.
Kentridge lived in comfortable circumstances, but he experienced the full human schizophrenia of South African society through his family's life between the world of the white bourgeoisie and the world of the marginalized black citizens.
Accordingly, his upbringing initially had little to do with art; after graduating from high school, he began studying politics and African studies at the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) from 1973 to 1976.
During his studies, however, Kentridge discovered his passion for creative work, theatre and art. After graduating with a degree in Politics/African Studies, he began studying art at the Johannesburg Art Foundation . He completed his studies in 1978 and subsequently trained as a mime at the “Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq” in Paris until 1982
South African artist William Kentridge setting up his installation 'The Refusal of Time' at dOCUMENTA 13
His involvement in numerous arts, as an actor, designer and theatre director, now defined his CV; from the 1980s onwards he was able to work as a director for the legendary Handspring Puppet Company from Cape Town.
His art was always also a way for him to attack the established South African society; in his productions, he drew on literary sources and transferred them into a surprising and frightening South African context.
The company went on tours that made plays like "Woyzeck on the Highveld" and "Ubu and the Truth Commission" world-famous in the 1990s.
Kentridge continued to transform disillusioning political events into powerful poetic allegories in drawings and sculptures, animations, films, and performances. The history and politics of South Africa were always integral to his art; the crimes of the apartheid regime are a recurring theme, alongside explorations of personal responsibility and collective memory, particularly in his short films.
In his later development, Kentridge increasingly simplified his style, sometimes working only with a pencil and eraser, developing the stories by erasing and redrawing.
Video information:
Using his work "History of the Main Complaint" (1996) as a backdrop, William Kentridge discusses how artists paint on tragic themes as the basis of their works and how drawing itself becomes an empathetic and compassionate act (in English).
The quality of Kentridge's work did not go unnoticed even without the distracting accompanying marketing hype; in 1995 he participated in the Johannesburg Biennale , in 1998 he was nominated for the Hugo Boss Prize , his animated films were shown at the Venice Biennale in 1993 and 2005 , and contributed to his international recognition as an artist.
Between 1996 and 2008, Kentridge's work was shown at Prospect.1 in New Orleans, and he participated twice each in the Sydney Biennale and documenta. In 2003, he received the Goslar Kaiserring , and in 2008, the Oskar Kokoschka Prize. From 2005 to 2007, Kentridge was appointed the first professor at the Max Beckmann Foundation in Frankfurt.
From 2004 to 2009, the artist participated in exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York , the Moderna Museet in Stockholm , the Philadelphia Museum of Art , and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . In 2010, he was featured again at the Museum of Modern Art in New York with the exhibition "William Kentridge: 5 Themes"
The likeable audience favorite Kentridge
William Kentridge's work appeared at documenta for the third time in 2012, and he didn't want to be the audience's favorite; he simply was. His entire reserved and intelligent manner makes him likeable, and a work of art like "The Refusal of Time"—a work of art that concerns and touches us all—makes him especially so.
Documenta 13, Kassel 2012
How "The Refusal of Time" looks and works in detail will not be revealed here – with such an unusual and surprising "piece of art", it would be a real shame to spoil the surprise for you.
However, it should be no secret that with his “Rejection of Time” Kentridge has created a work in which the history of time measurement and the disapproval of the fact that time is measured and can be measured forms the determining focal point.
“The Refusal of Time” has also been titled “Audiovisual Opera” , and indeed there is music and acting and a kind of stage design and costumes, and with all these ingredients the most amazing things happen in this video installation by the South African.
The artwork “The Refusal of Time” has a full 28 minutes to develop its expression of aversion to time calculation and to the passage of time in general, and in these 28 minutes you will see silent film scenes and dances of joy, measuring instruments of all kinds and paper and maps and English sentences on large canvases and also William Kentridge himself, who wanders through time.
German art connoisseurs are delighted by the word "Torschlusspanik," which, unique to the German language, expresses the fear that life will end before one's dreams. There's also a lot going on acoustically: chorales and fanfares can be heard, along with delicate voices that confuse the viewer with mysterious instructions like "Hold your breath" or "Undo, Unsay," and, of course, the relentless ticking of time in its many forms.
Those who wish can discover the numerous questions raised by the multimedia spectacle and try to answer them, for example the question of whether it is even worthwhile to measure time as precisely as possible, or whether this activity, on the contrary, costs us important time in our lives.
Since "The Refusal of Time" also ultimately has to succumb to the realization that time can never be stopped and the disorder in the world will never lessen, you can simply postpone all these questions for a moment while watching and simply enjoy the media artwork (as long as you return to a state of responsibility later).
Overall, Kentridge captures a powerful contemporary trend, addressing questions of personal and social responsibility and visualizing the feeling of no longer being able to control one's own time, whether these deficits are expressed in the silent acceptance of social injustices or in the audacity of an employer who wants his employees to be available via their mobile phones at all times.
Join us in rebelling against time, against constant availability, and against callous and irresponsible treatment of people!
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