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'Pulled From the Shadows' William Kentridge’s African Dance of Death

Ann McCoy 2019

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'It is in the very limitation and leanness of shadows that we learn, in the gaps, in the leaps to complete an image, that we perform a generative act of constructing the shape ... The very leanness of the illusion pushes us to complete the recognition - and this prompts an awareness of the activity itself, recognizing in this activity our agency in seeing, and our agency in apprehending the world.'

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'Kentridge relates an unfolding history in a collage of images and sounds. The
audience itself puts the pieces together—the impact comes from what’s left out,
his gaps. Like his shadow play, the viewer completes the image. The shadow
figures used by Kentridge inhabit a liminal realm, the in-between world, which
bridges the unconscious and the waking dream. We meet the players from both
above and below the threshold of consciousness.

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The idea of leaving gaps, the viewer pieces together an image - and not just an image also seeing meanings and connections, which will be their own and new insights beyond what the artist imagined or intended, and relating it back to the world. McCoy suggests that it is the things that are left out that are most impactful, this is definitely something to keep in mind for the final piece.

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The final piece will be a collage of different strands, layers, processes, ways of working etc.

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The head of the load https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSPcVKMc5Ug trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJtUH5HSrWI artists talk

 

Kentridge Method

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_UphwAfjhk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnweo-LQZLU

 

‘The role of art to defend the uncertain. To critique all forms of certainty whether ts authoritarian politics or certainty of knowledge, of making ambiguity and contradiction a central lifeblood, not just mistakes at the edge of understanding but how understanding is constructed, of making us aware of constructing meaning rather than receiving information, these are things that are natural to art and model how understanding could be.’ Kentridge quote from video

 

https://www.mariangoodman.com/exhibitions/146-william-kentridge-more-sweetly-play-the-dance/

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This is a very interesting time as it illuminates how knowledge and certainty change - particularly scientific knowledge - the scientific method the process of theory, research, the conclusion is being played out in public in real-time. Knowledge and understanding of the virus is unfolding e.g. its effects, how it is spread, who it affects - and is often uncertain. The government/society/scientists/economists response to the situation are varied and nuanced. It is only when it is over that we will see the errors that were made.

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This unfolding and uncertainty at every step is a key aspect to communicate. See notes about folding.

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Reference

McCoy, A. (2019) 'Pulled From the Shadows: William Kentridge's African Dance of Death', PAJ: A Journal of Performance & Art, Volume 41, Issue 2, page 19.