Tag Archive "william-kentridge"

Two Recent Books on Socially-Engaged Art

A number of books and catalogs have come out which concern art with a social and/or political focus. This post looks at two which were recently published in Berlin: Art and Agenda; Political Art and Activism, Robert Klanten et al, eds. ( Berlin: Gestalten, 2011) ISBN 978-3-89955-342-0 visible; where art leaves its own field and becomes visible as part of something else, a project by Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto and Fondazione Zegna (Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2010) ISBN 978–1-934105-0

Sophie’s Choice–Dubin vs. Kentridge

OK, maybe you won’t see that this as a win-win or lose-lose choice. It all depends on your outlook. But you can watch William Kentridge on WHYY (12) at 5 p.m. (i.e. in 40 mins.) Or you can listen to Murray Dubin and Dan Biddle interviewed by Guy Raz on NPR’s All Things Considered at 5:40 p.m. They will talk about their book about Octavius Catto and the battle for equality in Civil War America. However, here’s some good news if you’re sitting on the fence. Rob Matthews has cut the Gordion Knot! Vis a vis Kentridge, Rob writes: You ... More » »

William Kentridge countdown

It’s 16 days to the premiere of Art 21′s new film about William Kentridge. It ain’t perfect but Kentridge himself is. The film William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible takes place Oct. 21 at 10:00 p.m. on PBS (check local listings it says; not a good sign). I am going to remind you every once in a while that it’s coming soon. I’m a total fan!!!

Fare at the NY art fairs – Pulse and Volta

We ran into a lot of folks at the art fairs last week. Some we knew, others were artists and gallerists we were meeting for the first time. Either way, the art fairs are chat fests with conversations about art, sales and the exhilaration of being at the fair. Talk is the glue that holds the memory of the fair together this year.  Other years it was the art.  Here’s a brief report from Pulse, Volta and the Armory.

Christmas Presents in Dublin; or what I did during the holidays

Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905)Conveying the Child’s Coffin (1879) oil on canvas, 120 x 204 cm, Ateneum Art Museum Central Art Archives / Hannu Aaltonen ‘Northern Stars and Southern Lights: The Golden Age of Finnish Art 1870-1920’ at the National Gallery of Ireland In the visual arts the first Finns who come to mind are probably the architects Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen followed by a group of designers from the 1960s working for firms such as Marimekko, Ittala and Arabia, and more recently the video artist Elja-Lisa Ahtila and filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki.

Weekly Update – Big little Puppet Show at ICA

This week’s Weekly has my review of ICA’s Puppet Show. Below is the copy with some pictures. More pix at flickr. Puppet LoveThe ICA’s marionette show is hard-hitting fun. Puppet artists–Rirkrit Tirivanija and Philippe Parreno sit on a bench watching a video of themselves at the ICA’s Puppet Show. Artists enjoy being in control. They’re puppeteers. And as you can see in the Institute of Contemporary Art’s “The Puppet Show”—actual puppetry is popular with some of today’s leading artists. This encyclopedic roundup of puppet art has everything from displays of vintage puppets to puppet- like sculptures, videos and clay animations. ... More » »

Weekly Update – Kentridge’s Tapestries at PMA

This week’s Weekly has my review of the William Kentridge tapestries at the PMA. Below is the copy with some pictures. More photos at flickr and Libby’s post is here. Rugged LivesTapestry nomads weave a spell. Porter Series: Géographie des Hebreux ou Tableau de la dispersion des Enfants de Noë, 2005, William Kentridge. Tapestry weave with embroidery: mohair, acrylic, and polyester. 100 1/2 x 137 7/8 inches (255.3 x 350.2 cm). Collection of Anne and William Palmer, New York. The drama of human migration plays out in William Kentridge’s monumental tapestries now on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. ... More » »

Weekly Update – Year end roundup

This week’s Weekly has my year end wrap up. Below’s the copy with some pictures. More images at flickr. It Was a Very Good YearIn spite of hardships and lack of leadership, the art scene thrives. Video projection at Little Berlin. The up and coming alternative space carved out a video viewing space curtained off from the rest of the gallery and added seating — getting it right from the start! It’s been a shockingly good year for visual arts in Philly thanks to new utopianism leading the way. Young artists rose up like a wave, opening cooperative venues like ... More » »

Photo post: William Kentridge’s shadows on the shifting landscape at the PMA

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.At the William Kentridge talk and opening of his Tapestries exhibit at the PMA. Here’s the Flickr photo set if you want to spend time and see them bigger. A chance to hear William Kentridge at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and to get an early look at the exhibition William Kentridge: Tapestries attracted a whole clacque of admirers of the South African artist, including us. The exhibit is the fourth in the Notations series on contemporary (and global) art, curated by Carlos Basualdo, to show off some of the PMA’s contemporary art holdings. Among the Kentridge ... More » »

Sunday animation delights: Kentridge and Blu

While we’re all waiting for the big William Kentridge tapestries to come in to the PMA for the next Notations installation in the Contemporary galleries (The PMA purchased one tapestry and borrowed 9 more for the installation opening Dec. 12), let’s remember Kentridge for his amazing and labor intensive animations like Felix in Exile whose trademark is the ghostly erasure marks as the artist draws and adds and subtracts material to move the animation forward. Below is a short clip from a Kentridge animation. Here now, is another artist, Italian-born street artist Blu, with a similar m-o (although with very ... More » »