Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2009

One of South Africa’s most important living artists gets his first solo exhibition in Japan. “William Kentridge: What We See & What We Know: Thinking About History While Walking, and Thus the Drawings Began to Move…” presents 120 works, including many of his unusual “drawings in motion.” These animations, says MOMAT, can be understood “as a result of [Kentridge’s] intent to seek the origins of modern narrative creation, or to uncover the pathology of colonialism from within the Enlightenment as he travels back through history.” Museum-goers also have the rare chance to enjoy an art-themed lecture in English when professor and curator Jane Taylor speaks on Kentridge’s significance on January 10.

The National Museum of Modern Art
William Kentridge. What We See and What We Know: Thinking About History While Walking, and Thus the Drawings Began to Move… Drawing, animation. Jan 2-Feb 14, free (HS and under)/¥450 (univ)/¥850 (adult). 3-1 Kitanomaru Park, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial). Open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm (Fri until 8pm), closed Mon. Nearest stn: Takebashi, exit 1B. www.momat.go.jp