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William Kentridge: Art, Apartheid, and Animation with Dr. Jennie Hirsh

William Kentridge: Art, Apartheid, and Animation with Dr. Jennie Hirsh


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

This seminar focuses on the life and art of William Kentridge (b. Johannesburg, 1955), creator of some of the most powerful art works to grapple with, amongst other issues, the painful history of apartheid in his native country of South Africa. Initially trained in theatre, Kentridge has had one of the most illustrious careers as a contemporary artist whose magical animations, drawings, and other works have not only graced the walls of the most prestigious museums and galleries across the globe but also set the stage for the most innovative productions of operas, including Mozart's Magic Flute and Dmitri Shostakovich's The Nose (based on Gogol's short story), in terms of animated decoration and  costumes. This interactive lecture will not only survey more than five decades of Kentridge's potent career but also break down some of his techniques, including especially his unconventional approach to creating animations by repeatedly reworking and recording his drawings, objects often displayed together with his finished films.

Led by an expert on modern and contemporary art, Dr. Jennie Hirsh, this seminar will leave participants with a clear understanding of Kentridge's politically inflected contributions to contemporary art history. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased understanding of hot only Kentridge's rich practice but also of the ways in which he has uniquely approached politics through a combination of artistic media including animated films, tapestries, sculptures, collage, prints, and operatic productions.

Jennie Hirsh (Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College) is a Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has held postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton and Columbia Universities, as well as pre-doctoral fellowships from the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, the U.S. Fulbright Commission, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Wolfsonian FIU. Hirsh has authored essays on artists including Giorgio de Chirico, Giorgio Morandi, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Yinka Shonibare, and Regina Silveira, and is co-editor, with Isabelle Wallace, of Contemporary Art and Classical Myth (Ashgate 2011).

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

Customer Reviews

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Soledad Salame (Baltimore, US)
Illuminating (literally) Kentridge lecture by Jennie Hirsh.

I've been following W. Kentridge's work for years, but Jennie gave me a new insight into his films and animations. Thank you Jennie for such an engaging and resourceful lecture, I am looking forward to your next series.

Customer Reviews

Based on 1 review
100%
(1)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
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(0)
S
Soledad Salame (Baltimore, US)
Illuminating (literally) Kentridge lecture by Jennie Hirsh.

I've been following W. Kentridge's work for years, but Jennie gave me a new insight into his films and animations. Thank you Jennie for such an engaging and resourceful lecture, I am looking forward to your next series.