William Kentridge

As great as it is to have the opportunity to immerse yourself in a specific field of research, in my case fashion culture, it is still necessary, indeed, sometimes vital, to step outside of it. In part, this a way to 're-charge the batteries', so to speak, and on the other hand it also offers the opportunity to reflect on the research question(s). Yesterday's Q&A between artist William Kentridge and author Marina Warner, orgainised by the Amination Department, proved to be a case in point. It's always intriguing to hear about other people's working processes, and Kentridge proved to be a generous and enlightening guide into his own work, from scrappy, quick drawings, to polished animated film. Kentridge showed us both a finished film, his well-known Tide Table, as well as excerpts of film showing his working practices, including much in relation to his looking at how the body moves in motion through space. Much of this discussion provoked much 'food-for-thought' in relation to my own intial foray's into filmmaking, particularly Kentridge's explanation of working through 'accident'. Certainly much of my own recent experience of film-making has felt like that, feeling my way through the darkness. It seems that even for the seemingly very accomplished film-maker the 'accident' remains very much a part of their working process, leading to more intriguing possibilities, or the development of a body of work that might not already have happened. For a little insight into Kentridge's working process, and excerpts from Tide Table, see the short film above made by SF Moma.