The films play on the top of the hour daily and for the full hour daily from 12–1 PM and 5–6 PM
This trio of short animated films by William Kentridge demonstrate his interest in patterns associated with stream of consciousness thought, transformation, language, abstraction, and time. He uses the formal principles and building blocks of cinema, i.e. the illusion of movement that is created when the eye sees 24 frames per second, and manipulates the single film frame to make these magical works.
Each film on this 11-minute program involves the image of an open book and the rhythm suggested by animating the pages, so that they appear as turning pages. Kentridge uses the physical object of the book as a canvas for his hand-drawn animated forms, collage elements, and text. This wonderfully creative simulation gives the viewer a sense of reading the film as one would read a book. The range of forms Kentridge animates on the page include trees, cats, espresso pots, dancers, and aphorisms. These projects, which are conceived of and evolve in Kentridge’s studio, are sometimes part of a larger series, such as the Drawing Lessons series, and/or incorporated into installation projects and operatic productions.
—Susan Oxtoby, Director of Film and Senior Film Curator
Drawing Lesson No. 45: Lexicon Greek/Latin
(South Africa, 2010, 1:19 mins, silent, color, digital video)
Tango for Page Turning
(South Africa, 2013, 2:45 mins, silent*, color, digital video)
Second-Hand Reading
(South Africa, 2013, 7 mins, sound, silent*, digital video)
*These works also exist as sound films.
Courtesy of the artist.
