Is William Kentridge Artwashing Israel?
Introduction
William Kentridge has been an influential representative for the South African art world during and after the end of apartheid. He has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in creating international awareness of South Africa’s artistic voices as well as participating in and creating multiple initiatives which have allowed many artists to grow. Personally, I have benefited from this by assisting William Kentridge in carving linocuts, a medium that reflects South Africa’s legacy of resistance against apartheid — a legacy that his parents, Sir Sydney Kentridge and Felicia Kentridge have dedicated their lives to.
William Kentridge is widely acknowledged for his gentlemanly demeanour, capable of artfully expressing our shared humanity both through his creative works of art and persuasive public addresses. His sensitive ability to present our most horrific history with dignity to the victims and a measured understanding of the perpetrators showcases his remarkable stature as an artist. Yet, it is crucial to underscore his position as a custodian of our anti-apartheid legacy, thereby highlighting the significance of his artistic choices which would serve in our interest as post-apartheid South Africans to engage with him if there is a potential alignment with Israeli Zionist sentiment.
It has been two years since the first attempt to engage with William Kentridge regarding his alleged association with Israel, and I present this three-part analysis to highlight my concerns. The objective behind this analysis is to shed light on particular elements that could be reasonably interpreted as an artwashing of the Israeli apartheid state. However, it is important to emphasize that the intention behind this is to encourage William Kentridge to address these perceptions in any manner of his choosing as I firmly believe he is an honourable and empathetic individual with the capacity to amplify our history and values to audiences far and wide.
PACBI Open Letter
On the 4th of February 2011, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) published an open letter to William Kentridge[1] through which they emphasized the importance of the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel and urged Kentridge to reconsider his scheduled art exhibition in Israel[2]. The letter highlights Israel’s violations of international law and Palestinian rights, including the military occupation, apartheid policies, denial of the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and the illegal siege of Gaza. It also draws parallels between Kentridge’s experience with apartheid in South Africa to the plight of Palestinians. It further appeals to his conscience and wishes for his solidarity in the struggle for justice.
Great Texts debate
William Kentridge decided that participating in a boycott would not be ideal as he believes “it was not the cultural boycott that changed the [South African apartheid] government’s views”[3]. After the controversial exhibition, he did make himself available to openly discuss whether Israel should be academically and/or culturally boycotted at the Institute for Creative Arts (ICA)[4] in 2011. During the debate, William Kentridge talks about the many institutions during South Africa’s apartheid years that were compromised. He, for example, rhetorically asks how someone can practice law in an apartheid courtroom when the laws are of apartheid[5]. A boycott, therefore, does not provide adequate space to acknowledge the dichotomous reality of those who perpetuate apartheid and those who resist apartheid in legal, academic, or cultural institutions.
Dan David Prize
Around ten months after his debate William Kentridge presented a lecture “A Natural History of the Studio” at Tel Aviv University on June 12, 2012, as a recipient of the Dan David Prize[6]. This event served as a platform for him to interact with an Israeli audience and express the dignifying values that were championed during the South African struggle and while he did lean in that direction by vaguely acknowledging “the similarities and the differences between political situations in South Africa and Israel.”[7] His lecture did not directly touch upon multiple issues raised in the PACBI open letter.
Considering his presentation is titled “A Natural History of the Studio,” it’s fair to expect him to delve into his upbringing[8]. Which undoubtedly shaped his insightful reflections on South Africa’s apartheid history. Notably, his father, Sir Sydney Kentridge, gained international recognition for challenging the apartheid system from within. So, one might wonder why he did not follow in his father’s footsteps and utilize his praised oratory skills to address the issues from within Israel. This expectation is further reinforced by his open criticisms of international countries enforcing apartheid laws, as demonstrated in his artwork “Notes to a Model Opera” addressing China[9].
Reflection
Notably, William Kentridge made no direct mention of apartheid in his Dan David lecture at Tel Aviv University. Yet, during the Great Texts debate, he and his peers who ardently opposed the boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions claimed that such an action would marginalize those striving to uphold dignity for the oppressed. This leads to a fundamental question: why did he choose not to engage on this subject with his audience? The failure to address apartheid or colonialism sets a troubling precedent, as Israeli Zionists are committing crimes of apartheid and are inflicting neo-colonialism upon the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and through their illegal settlements. What raises a further concern is that the Dan David Prize is dedicated to the Zionist entrepreneur Dan David, implying that he had an obligation to confront these pressing issues.
Moreover, it is essential to highlight that in 2011, when the Palestinians appealed to William Kentridge for solidarity, he revealed to a Haaretz journalist during his “Five Themes” exhibition at the Israel Museum that he was unwilling to directly compare Israel’s actions with the apartheid history of South Africa, although he did acknowledge the presence of similar issues[10]. As an internationally recognized advocate for South Africa’s apartheid history, Kentridge’s contradictory stance adds confusion to the matter after all the comparison between Israel and South Africa has been made by eminent figures such as renowned scholar Noam Chomsky (2010) [11], former US President Jimmy Carter (2007) [12], and Haaretz journalist Amira Hass (2006) [13]. I sincerely hope that he will adopt a more resolute position against Israel’s colonial and apartheid-like treatment of the Palestinians, particularly in light of the recent reports released by Amnesty International[14] and Human Rights Watch[15].
To William Kentridge’s credit, it is worth mentioning that he participated in a protest in Jerusalem during the exhibition and in 2009 he was a signatory of a declaration condemning Israel of its attack on Gaza. However, he is often recognized for his skills as an orator and artist. If his father could defend the voices of the oppressed within compromised institutions like the apartheid courtrooms, it seems fair to expect that he, too, could advocate for the oppressed within compromised museums and universities. If he doesn’t address this then his silence as a vocal critic of apartheid and colonialism can be noted as non-appliable to Israel. This can make him an active participant which then leads to a misinterpretation of his work and a misappropriation of our history in a Zionist context. This was highlighted by Haaretz journalist Ellie Armon Azoulay who reported on an interview with James Snyder, the Director of the Israel Museum’s speaking about William Kentridge’s “Five Themes” 2011 exhibition[16]:
He also drew a comparison between the all-encompassing nature of the museum and the interdisciplinary quality of Kentridge’s work, noting that both the museum and Kentridge are committed to the pursuit of beauty. Ironically, as Snyder made these remarks, one could see behind him a prominent display of disturbing images of apartheid in South Africa, and of poverty and violence in other parts of the world.
It’s perplexing when considering Kentridge’s vast artistic contributions, he hasn’t created major artworks explicitly confronting the parallels of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians with South Africa’s apartheid history as well as his convoluted opinion on Israel’s crimes of apartheid and neo-colonialism during his “Five Themes” exhibition. Furthermore, the fact that he has held several exhibitions in Israel and no major exhibitions in Palestine raises concerns, especially when considering the appeal from PACBI: “[e]xhibiting your art in Israel will mean that Palestinians just minutes away in the West Bank and Gaza will not be able to attend.” It casts a shadow of irony: his work, meant to uphold the dignity of South Africans who once faced oppression, could through his silence inadvertently alienate those who experience comparable oppressions in Palestine.
Read part 2 here: Who is Morris Kentridge?
Read part 3 here: William Kentridge’s Supporter
References:
[1] https://bdsmovement.net/news/open-letter-william-kentridge-don%E2%80%99t-exhibit-apartheid
[2] https://www.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/william-kentridge-five-themes
[3] https://www.haaretz.com/2011-03-11/ty-article/apartheid-as-art/0000017f-e3e2-d7b2-a77f-e3e749b80000
[4] http://www.ica.uct.ac.za/GIPCA/projects/2011/GTBQCulturalBoycotts
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLpiusMsG3E (00:12:30)
[6] The Dan David Prize is in honour of the Zionist entrepreneur Dan David and was considered one of the highest cash-value prizes in the world. Prior to 2021, the prize awarded $ 1 million each for the three recipients of that year. William Kentridge is one of the few fine artists to have received this prize and his presence in at this prize is strange. Scholars largely recognize Zionism as a colonial settler ideology and this prize is potentially used to legitimize the actions of Zionists on a global stage. This is especially concerning with William Kentridge’s presence because of his outspokenness against colonialism and apartheid.
https://dandavidprize.org/the-prize-2001-2021/
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm1juXIaCsg (00:05:35)
[8] Extract from an article written by Mick Brown for the Telegraph “William Kentridge: ‘In retrospect, apartheid is even more bizarre’ “(2022)
“William Kentridge lives in a large and airy house in an affluent neighbourhood of Johannesburg, behind a high wall surmounted by an electric fence. It is the house where he grew up, and to which he returned in the 1980s — with his wife Anne and their three children — when his parents, Sydney and Felicia, retired to England. It is also the house where a six-year-old Kentridge once opened a box on his father’s desk, thinking it contained chocolates. Instead, he found horrific photographs of the 69 victims of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, killed after police opened fire on a crowd of protestors.”
https://www.goodman-gallery.com/press/4565/pdf
[9] https://www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/william-kentridge%E2%80%99s-notes-towards-model-opera-opens-beijing
[10] https://www.haaretz.com/2011-03-11/ty-article/apartheid-as-art/0000017f-e3e2-d7b2-a77f-e3e749b80000
[11] https://www.bu.edu/articles/2010/noam-chomsky-rails-against-israel-again/
[12] https://www.npr.org/2007/01/25/7004473/jimmy-carter-defends-peace-not-apartheid
[13] https://www.arabnews.com/node/278494
[14] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/
[15] https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution
[16] https://www.haaretz.com/2011-03-11/ty-article/apartheid-as-art/0000017f-e3e2-d7b2-a77f-e3e749b80000
