Customer Reviews

William Kentridge: Five Themes (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art)

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William Kentridge is a South African based artist. Although well recognized for some time, he has recently achieved prominence with his acclaimed production of Shostakovich's opera "The Nose" at the Metropolitan Opera. I have seen two exhibitions of his work in Sydney and felt that, contrary to much of the contemporary art that is to be seen nowadays, Kentridge has a unique and meaningful artistic voice. This book, a catalog of a traveling exhibition, examines five main themes of the artist's output.

Kentridges' work centres around drawing, film, sculpture and theatrical productions. From my limited exposure to his often experiential oeuvre, a book is unable to adequately convey the message of his work. The encolosed DVD helps somewhat in showing some filmic exerpts. What "Five Themes" provides are illustrations of his drawings, sculptures, installations and theatrical sets. Additionally there are intelligently written essays about Kentridge's work and an interview with the artist.

This book is well printed with high quality illustrations. It would serve as a worthwhile introduction to this exceptional artist.

The Kentridge volume, the catalog of the SF MoMA, is actually $5 cheaper than at the museum itself! Also, there is a DVD inside with many of Kentridge's experiments with single-slide video/animation. You may find that the DVD isn't made for NTSC video, but you can call the museum, which will send you a replacement if you ask nice and let them know you bought the catalog (just don't mention where....!)

Great artist and great book. Has information on just about everything on Kentridge. I will say that my favorite part of this book is the DVD it brings with it. His artwork is great. Definitely one of our best contemporary artists.