Triumphs & Laments - series by William Kentridge -

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Triumphs and Laments series by William Kentridge.

William Kentridge - The Triumph of Bacchus

“understanding history is always a construction out of chaos”.

Background on the works: (Text extracted from: Triumphs and Laments by William Kentridge, from two essays by Salvatore Se s and Gabriele Guercio and a conversa on with William Kentridge. Published in 2016 as a guide to the work) Triumphs and Laments consists of erased graffi drawings on the banks of the Tiber River between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Mazzini in the heart of Rome.

The project was commissioned by a non-profit organiza on Tevereterno and Kris n Jones. The project was conceived as a performa ve projec on a decade earlier. For Kentridge, this project became about the space between the Va can and the site of the original segregated Jewish ghe o that was established during the late Renaissance in Rome from 1555 and lasted un l 1870 when the Italian army conquered Rome bringing the enlightened views of Garibaldi, Mazzini and Cavour.

In an interview with Carlos Basualdo, Kentridge reveals that the big gap in my head was assuming the Roman ghe o was a product of the Middle Ages, and that the impulse of the Renaissance and subsequently the Enlightenment, was not part of the story of the ghe o.

I didn't know this shameful piece of history was also a product of the Renaissance. So a moment of glory for the city was also a moment of shame….

The point is that both glory and shame happen together, at the same moment. So at a certain point, I realized that this project had to be about the implica on of disaster at the moment

© Marinelli 2016

of triumph (Kentridge 2016: 51).

The ancient Romans celebrated military triumphs with a parade. The idea of a procession in front of a representa on of a triumph began in Rome over two thousand years ago. There is a general narra ve of triumphs and laments, bookended by the heroic horse of Marcus Aurelius at the beginning of the frieze and the skeletal horse at the very end.

In the same conversa on, Kentridge talks about the autobiographical coming into the work: An image wai ng in my head … was the sculpture of Marcus Aurelius astride a horse which I had seen when I first came to Italy as a six year-old child. This image is, of course, also in all the guidebooks (Kentridge: 53) Triumphs and Laments has been described as “paradoxical monumentality”. The aim of Kentridge's Roman project is “to capture the transient: to bear witness to what is altered and dissolved over me”. It expresses “a desire to experience both the unfolding of me and me itself as unfolding” (Guercio: 135).

Kentridge's technique is carried out in sequen al steps, first from drawings made on paper (first in charcoal and then in ink) to their transla on on the traver ne walls that contain the Tiber river today, …that subtracts the dark layer le on the stone blocks by pollu on, vegeta on and micro-organisms, through washing around the cut stencils with water. According to Guercio, the figures monumental size (their triumph) is inseparable from their precarious state (their lament) since the frieze will inevitably fade away.

About the work The large works of Marcus Aurelius, Garibaldi and the Triumph of Bacchus have been translated into monumental prints retaining some of the impetus and spirit of Rome frieze: Triumphs and Laments.

The image is drawn across 20 brass plates with a sugar-li mixture and ink. The plates are then covered with a varnish or ground and submerged in water to 'li ' the drawing through washing, leaving a nega ve image. This is aqua nted with enamel spray paint and immersed in ferric chloride- a non-toxic equivalent of acid. The paper used to print each plate is hand made from raw Chinese hemp fibre that is cooked, pulped and cast into lightweight sheets at the Phumani Papermill at the University of Johannesburg. The plates have been further etched and drypointed adding addi onal layers of tone and nuance to the images.

The prints are mounted on raw co on cloth through the etching press assuming the rough texture of the cloth.

The cloth is folded in on itself using the format of a folded map that fits modestly into ones hands, denying the monumentality of a huge framed artwork. This paradox echoes what Guercio, describing the Rome frieze, called “a desire to experience both the unfolding of me and me itself as unfolding”.

The edi on is small (ten), with each piece individually hand-coloured by Kentridge using ink washes to join the folds between individual paper panels. The work folds into a hand-made clamshell box.

Garibaldi on a wooden horse (1821-1849) (From the source image of Victor Emmanuel 11 (1820-1878) the ďŹ rst king of Italy. Imagined by William Kentridge in the act of posing for the equestrian statue.

Title: Garibaldi Ar st: William Kentridge Publisher: Ar st Proof Studio Collaborators: Kim Berman and Nathi Ndlandla Printers: Sara-Aimee Verity and Nathi Ndlandla Medium: Li Ground Aqua nt etching on 100% Hemp Phumani handmade paper (made by Dumisani Dlamini) Mounted on raw co on cloth Image Size: 163cm(h) x 156cm (w) Clamshell Box: (45cm x 35cm x 4cm(h) Number of plates: 20 Edi on Size: 10 (1/5 - 5/5 to APS & 6/10 - 10/10 to William Kentridge) Proofs: 7 (T/P, A/P, H/C, BAT, W/P, P/P x 2) Ink: Charbonnel F66 Black

The Triumph of Bacchus�, also referred to as the "Collapsing Horse� is derived from a marble sarcophagus showing a bacchic procession (160-70CE, Musei Capitolini, Rome)

Title: The Triumph of Bacchus Ar st: William Kentridge Publisher: Ar st Proof Studio Collaborators: Kim Berman and Nathi Ndlandla Printers: Pontsho Sikhosana and Nathi Ndlandla Medium: Li Ground Aqua nt etching on 100% Hemp Phumani handmade paper (made by Dumisani Dlamini) Mounted on raw co on cloth Image Size: 163cm(h) x 156cm (w) Clamshell Box: (45cm x 35cm x 4cm(h) Number of plates: 20 Edi on Size: 10 (1/5 - 5/5 to APS & 6/10 - 10/10 to William Kentridge) Proofs: 7 (T/P, A/P, H/C, BAT, W/P, P/P x 2) Ink: Charbonnel F66 Black

NEW RELEASES

Ar st: William Kentridge Printers: Sara-Aimee Verity and Nathi Ndlandla Publisher: Ar st Proof Studio Title: The Glass Vase Medium: Li Ground Aqua nt Paper Type: 100% Hemp Phumani handmade paper on 400gms Arches Paper Size: Arches 400gms: 515mm x 400mm Image Size: 290mm x 390mm Number of plates: 1 Edi on Size: 30 (1/30 - 15/30 to APS & 16/30 - 30/30 to William Kentridge) Proofs: 9 Ink: Charbonnel F66 Black.

Descrip on: The Glass Vase is printed from one-plate. One plate, was painted by the ar st and the image was li ed using the li ground technique thereby exposing the metal plate to be etched. This aqua nt plate is inked with F66 Black and printed through an etching press. The printers on this project are Sara-Aimee Verity and Nathi Ndlandla. The print was printed onto 100% hemp acid-free handmade paper made at the University of Johannesburg Phumani Paper-mill by Dumisani Dlamini. This is a ached onto white/cream 400gsm Arches paper.

On comple on, the ar st, numbered, tled and signed each print with a red pencil crayon. It was chopped with an impression by Ar st Proof Studio on the right-hand side.

Ar st: William Kentridge Printers: Sara-Aimee Verity and Nathi Ndlandla Publisher: Ar st Proof Studio Title: The Conversa on Medium: Sugarli aqua nt and engraving with hand painted ink wash Paper Type: 100% Hemp Phumani handmade paper on 400gms Arches Paper Size: Arches 400gms: 515mm x 400mm Image Size: 290mm x 390mm Number of plates: 2 Edi on Size: 30 (1/30 - 15/30 to APS & 16/30 - 30/30 to William Kentridge) Proofs: 8 Ink: Graphic Chemical Cadmium Red and Charbonnel F66 Black.

Descrip on: The Conversa on is printed from two-plates. One plate, engraved with border lines is inked with cadmium red and the aqua nt plate is inked with F66 Black. Two impressions are printed through an etching press. The printers on this project are Sara-Aimee Verity and Nathi Ndlandla. The print was printed onto 100% hemp acid-free handmade paper made at the University of Johannesburg Phumani Paper-mill by Dumisani Dlamini. This is a ached onto white/cream 400gsm Arches paper. On comple on, the ar st, numbered, tled and signed each print with a red pencil crayon. It was chopped with an impression by Ar st Proof Studio on the righthand side.

Ar st: William Kentridge Printers: Sara-Aimee Verity and Nathi Ndlandla Publisher: Ar st Proof Studio Title: Tree in Landscape Medium: Sugarli aqua nt and engraving with hand painted ink wash Paper Type: 100% Hemp Phumani handmade paper on 400gms Arches Paper Size: Arches 400gms: 515mm x 400mm Image Size: 290mm x 390mm Number of plates: 2 Edi on Size: 30 (1/30 - 15/30 to APS & 16/30 - 30/30 to William Kentridge) Proofs: 8 Ink: Graphic Chemical Cadmium Red and Charbonnel F66 Black.

Descrip on: The Tree in Landscape is printed from two-plates. One plate, engraved with border lines is inked with cadmium red and the aqua nt plate is inked with F66 Black. Two impressions are printed through an etching press. The printers on this project are Sara-Aimee Verity and Nathi Ndlandla. The print was printed onto 100% hemp acid-free handmade paper made at the University of Johannesburg Phumani Paper-mill by Dumisani Dlamini. This is a ached onto white/cream 400gsm Arches paper. On comple on, the ar st, numbered, tled and signed each print with a red pencil crayon. It was chopped with an impression by Ar st Proof Studio on the righthand side.

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