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Shadow Procession

Image Coming Soon

Shadow Procession

1999

William Kentridge

South African, born 1955

Alfred Makgalemele (Music)

South African

"Things that seem whimsical, incidental, inauthentic may be trusted to provide entry into the heart of one's material." (William Kentridge, 2001)

William Kentridge described South Africa as an "exemplary moral tale of the 20th century." Shadow Procession is not set on the streets of Johannesburg, but on a featureless landscape. People struggle to move quickly, but we're not sure if they are fleeing a menace or simply hurrying home. In a sudden shift, Ubu Roi appears as an Everyman dictator who awkwardly struts around wagging his finger. A cat stretches, an eyeball swivels and a pair of scissors begins to march. Kentridge's art thrives on ambiguity and unresolved endings. His raw images prompt our imagination in a way that Technicolor realism cannot.


Color video, sound
Approx. 7 min.
The 1999 Maryatt Gala, William and Ruth True, Rebecca and Alexander Stewart, General Acquisition Fund, and James and Christina Lockwood, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2002.51
location
Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, William Kentridge: Shadow Procession, July 1, 2004 - Oct. 17, 2004

Published ReferencesIshikawa, Chiyo, ed. "A Community of Collectors: 75th Anniversary Gifts to the Seattle Art Museum." Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2007, illus. p. 74.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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