William Kentridge: Ursonate

On view September 30, 2022 to April 16, 2023

Johannesburg artist William Kentridge’s performance piece Ursonate will be on view at NSU Art Museum, with screenings during museum hours, every hour on the half-hour, 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. (Tuesdays through Saturdays); 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Sundays). Based on Dada artist Kurt Schwitters’ 1932 sound poem Ursonate, consisting entirely of a nonsense, invented language, Kentridge’s work is comprised of two film projections: one in which the artist emphatically gesticulates as he sounds the score accompanied by an opera singer and percussionist, while a constant flow of animated calligraphic images drawn by Kentridge are projected on the second screen. This exhibition coincides with the performance of Kentridge’s opera The Head & The Load at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Miami from December 1-3, 2022.

William Kentridge, Ursonate, 2018. Dual channel HD film. 33 min, 54 sec. © William Kentridge, Courtesy Performa, New York and William Kentridge Studio.

William Kentridge (b. Johannesburg, South Africa, 1955) is internationally acclaimed for his drawings, films, and theater and opera productions. His method combines drawing, writing, film, performance, music, theater, and collaborative practices to create works of art that are grounded in politics, science, literature and history, yet maintain a space for contradiction and uncertainty. Kentridge’s work has been seen in museums and galleries around the world since the 1990s. His opera productions, including Mozart’s The Magic Flute, have been seen at opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, and the Sydney Opera House. His theatrical productions, including Ursonate and The Head & the Load, have been performed in theaters and festivals around the globe.

Film duration: 33 minutes 54 seconds

Top Image: William Kentridge, Ursonate, 2018. Dual channel HD film, 33 min, 54 sec. © William Kentridge, Courtesy William Kentridge Studio and Collection of Valerie Dillon.

Bottom Image: William Kentridge, Ursonate, 2018. Dual channel HD film. 33 min, 54 sec. © William Kentridge, Courtesy Performa, New York and William Kentridge Studio.

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William Kentridge: Ursonate is sponsored by Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz.

Eight Elements in Eight Hours is sponsored by Bunny and Jay Wasserman and The Wise Family Music Foundation.

Major support for NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale is provided by the David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation, the City of Fort Lauderdale, Community Foundation of Broward, the Broward County Cultural Division, the Cultural Council, and the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.