William Kentridge is known for his hand-drawn animations that evoke the quaint charms of the silent film era while unflinchingly observing the brutality of contemporary society, with many of his works drawing from the context of his native South Africa.
Internationally recognized as a leading contemporary artist, Kentridge was recently in Japan for the opening of his first comprehensive exhibition here, organized by the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. The exhibition departs from other interpretations of Kentridge's work by giving equal weight to the political implications of the artist's subject matter and his formal investigation into what curator Shinji Kohmoto describes as "the mechanics of the modern way of seeing."
Taking a break from preparations for his Sept. 4 lecture-performance "I Am Not Me, The Horse is Not Mine," presented at Kyoto Kaikan Concert Hall in conjunction with the exhibition, Kentridge discussed his ideas and influences with the Japan Times.