William Kentridge

William Kentridge's Refusal of Time was an amazing interactive video installation piece and wooden sculpture. The piece of art was set in a dark room at The Met. The viewer was not looking at a traditional piece of art work rather he or she was immersed in the art itself. The viewer was forced to go into a room and be a part of the art. There was a large wooden sculpture at the back center of the room that was moving but it was not the main attraction. There were chairs set up around the room for viewers to sit and watch the 30 minute video installation. There were three videos projected onto the three sides of the room. The videos played all at once but not always at the same speed or even the same video clip.

Kentridge seemed to be reflecting on his past and his relation to time throughout the installation. Kentridge is from Johannesburg and his father was one of the most famous lawyers that helped lead the anti-apartheid movement. In Kentridge's various video clips he shows black men and women in tribal clothes dealing with government like figures. He also uses a character, a white bald man, to show receptive motions throughout the piece. This could be his subtle nod to the way people view different races throughout time.

 I really enjoyed Refusal of Time a lot. I think the thing that struck me most was Kentridge's ability to get the viewer to immerse one's self into the piece. We are so used to observing art and critiquing it from a distance. It usually goes something like the viewer stands five feet away from a roped off famous painting. I think that Kentridge did an excellent job of breaking that preconceived notion and forced the viewer to jump into the piece itself! The strongest part of the piece for me was the fact that the viewers attention was almost solely on the video installation as the wooden sculpture moved in the background and then slowly stopped at the end of the video. I think that the wooden sculptures slow and steady pace was an interesting contrast between the fast pace of the clips. I really liked the short video clip of Kentridge's word map. It went something like: Milky Way, Universe, World, Johannesburg, William Kentridge.