The artist was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in the year 1955. He is best known for his animated film shorts. His process is a far longer than doing just a normal drawing. First Kentridge draws the image, then takes a picture of it on film for one to two seconds. He then erases the part of the image and restarts the same process. Draw and erase, draw and erase, draw and erase, until he has enough images to make a film.
His parents were both lawyers who represented the victims of apartheid. It gave him a unique view of life. In South Africa non whites were second class citizens. Kentridge is of European heritage. It helps a great deal to review the political and social unrest taking place in his country when viewing his works. Similar to the very emotional charcoal works of Kathe Kollwitz.
Kentridge grew up in South Africa attending the Johannesburg Art Foundation in the 1970s. The artist went to college at the University of Witwatersand, South Africa earning a degree in politcal science. Kentridge also studied theater in Paris, France. His partner in his theater productions is the HandSpring Puppet Company. Kentridge designs and produces the backdrops used in these productions.
Check out his great puppet design in this short clip.
Kentridge went to school to learn how to become an actor. As he later states he was just terrible and it and made his peace with it. He accepted he was a great producer of images and a great visual artist.
In this clip see Kentridge talk about his process of drawing then erasing as the means to create his stop -animation films. They are quite skillfully done with loads of imaginative ideas such as a chair turning into a table or a cow taking a shower/ bath! Very unique indeed!
In this unique clip watch the artist as he draws and paints himself then walks away the both of him! When I saw this clip I thought about Salvador Dali. Its called “Invisible Mending” and was made in 2003.
The artist makes some incredible linocuts. He has wonderful compositions with exciting lines. The stop animations are very lively and I would enjoy seeing them on a movie size screen. They might be something Walt Disney and Steve Jobs might have come up with on a collaboration.
High price ranges: The artist has sold an oil titled Anti-Waste for $414,000. His charcoal record is $90,529. Drypoint record is $91,000. Watercolor record $128,000.
Low price range: Photography works can be found for less than $1,000. Etchings start $1,000 to $2,000.
This artist is so contemporary and always trying out new mediums its hard to keep track of all of his accomplishments.
Make some art!
D
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