Jednoglasnom odlukom Vijeća Animafesta Zagreb, dobitnik Nagrade za životno djelo je William Kentridge iz Republike Južne Afrike, do danas osamnaesterostruki počasni član i doktor poznatih umjetničkih akademija i sveučilišta u Americi, Africi i Europi, nosilac visokih ordena, nagrada i časti raznih država i svjetskih zaklada, umjetnik čiji se univerzalni opus proteže od dječje književnosti preko crteža, grafika, tapiserija i skulptura, glume, autorstva kratkih igranih filmova, lutkarskih predstava, kazališne i operne režije i scenogra- fije, zahtjevnih transmedijskih projekata i performansa do začudnih postignuća u domeni autorskog animiranog filma, dijelom izvedenog osebujnom tehnikom ugljena na papiru koja njegovim „crtežima u pokretu“ daje poseban pečat. Rođen 1955. godine u Johannesburgu, Kentridge 1970-ih godina studira političke nauke da bi se potom bavio glu- mom, režijom i dizajnom u johanesburškom kazalištu. U tim godinama crtež i igra postaju osnova umjetničkog izričaja, ali i način otpora prema stvarnosti rasne segregacije i postko- lonijalnog naslijeđa. Razvijajući od kasnih ‘80.-ih posebnu tehniku animacije kojom filmove radi kao seriju crteža uglje- nom u kojoj se za segmente snimki u osnovi koristi istim crtežom koji djelomično višekratno briše pa ponovo riše na način da tragove obrisanog ostavlja jasno vidljivima, Kentridge gradi prepoznatljiv rukopis i osebujnu palimp- sestnu poetiku.
Nakon serije kratkih animiranih filmova u kojima kroz amble- matski kreirane likove Sohoa Ecksteina i Felixa Teitelbauma s jasnim autobiografskim elementima progovara o dinamič- noj društveno-političkoj stvarnosti svoje domovine uz goruća pitanja preispitivanja vremena prije i nakon apartheida koji mu donose međunarodnu slavu, Kentridge nastavlja s radom na velikim projektima koji osim specifičnih eksperimental- nih multimedijalnih instalacija uključuju i iznimno zahtjevne teatarske inscenacije. William Kentridge vodeće je ime suvremene svjetske umjetničke scene čija se djela danas nalaze u stalnim postavima najvažnijih muzeja i galerija, a kazališne inscenacije u najslavnijim opernim i kazališnim kućama.
Vijeće Animafesta, duboko poštujući sveukupnost i nedje- ljivost umjetničke misli i djela velikog majstora, osobito ističe posebnost i svevremensku magiju njegovih animira- nih filmova dodjeljujući Nagradu za životno djelo Svjetskog festivala animiranog filma – Animafest Zagreb 2023. za taj segment artističkog rada, ali i za primjenu animacije unutar čitavog dijapazona svog likovnog stvaralaštva čime je William Kentridge značajno proširio prisutnost „osme umjetnosti“ na svjetskoj galerijsko-muzejskoj sceni i izgradio platformu za mnoštvo novih poklonika.
Margit Antauer, Vijeće Animafesta Zagreb Paola Orlić, kustosica Animafesta Zagreb
ANIMAFEST ZAGREB 2023. NAGRADA
ZA ŽIVOTNO DJELO
By a unanimous decision of the Animafest Zagreb Council, the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 is William Kentridge from South Africa, an eighteen times honorary member and PhD holder from famous art acade- mies and universities in America, Africa and Europe, decora- ted with high honours, awards and merits of different states and global foundations, an artist whose universal opus includes literature for children, drawings, prints, tapestries and sculptures, acting, short fiction films, puppet plays, theatre and opera directing and set design, demanding transmedia projects and performances, as well as wondrous accomplishments in the field of auteur animation, partly carried out in the peculiar charcoal on paper technique, which gave a special touch to his ‘drawings in motion’. Born 1955 in Johannesburg, in the 1970s Kentridge studied political sciences and later pursued acting, directing and design in Johannesburg’s theatre. Around that time, drawing and play became the basis of his artistic expression, but also a form of resistance against the reality of racial segre- gation and post-colonial heritage. Developing since the late 1980s a special animation technique as a series of charcoal drawings in which for segments of sequences he essentially uses the same drawing which he repeatedly partially erases and redraws by leaving the erasure marks visible, Kentridge has built a recognisable signature trademark and a peculiar palimpsest poetics.
After a series of short animated films in which he uses emble- matically designed characters of Soho Eckstein and Felix Teitelbaum with clear autobiographical elements to speak up about the dynamic socio-political reality of his country, with the burning issues of re-examining the time before and after the Apartheid which brought him international fame, Kentridge continued his work on large-scale projects which, apart from specific experimental multimedia installations, included extremely demanding theatrical staging. William Kentridge is a leading name on the contemporary global art scene whose works today are included in the permanent exhibitions of the most important museums and galleries and theatrical and stage pieces in the most famous opera houses and theatres.
The Animafest Council, deeply respecting the totality and indivisibility of this great master’s artistic idea and work, particularly underlines the idiosyncrasy and timeless magic of his animated films by giving him the World Festival of Animated Film Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 for this segment of his artistic activity, as well as for the application of animation within a broader spectrum of art, with which William Kentridge has substantially expanded the presence of ‘the eighth art’ on the global museum and gallery scene and built a platform for its countless new fans.
Margit Antauer, Animafest Zagreb Coucil Paola Orlić, Animafest Zagreb curator
ANIMAFEST ZAGREB 2023 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD