One of the most ambitious works of a renowned artist was able to find its spot in Rome, thanks to the aid of Roma Capitale and the organization TEVERETERNO. The artist, William Kentridge, famous for his different approaches to art, was born in 1955, in Johannesburg, South Africa. His works (performances, films, sculptures, etc.) have been shown in many of the world’s greatest museums, from Paris to New York, before finally arriving in the citta’ eterna, Rome. Through drawing, sculpture, performance, animation, and film he transforms political events into poetic allegories.
Man With Flag, 2008; Man With Globe, 2008, Megaphone, 2008; bronze
(ART21 ) The project, Triumphs and Laments: A Project for Rome, is a 500 meter-long frieza, erased from the biological patina on the travertine embankment walls that line Rome’s urban waterfront. The artwork is composed by more than eighty figures, all ten meters high, representing Rome’s greatest victories and defeats, starting from mythological time to present.
“The hope is that, [as] people walk the extent of these 500 meters, they will see images of the history they find both familiar and transformed in some way. This will reflect the complex way in which a city is represented… We are trying to find the triumph in the lament and the lament in the triumph, putting together a sense of history from fragments.” – William Kentridge
In April 21st and 22nd the work of art was inaugurated with a live theatrical performance designed by Kentridge himself; a first for Rome. The program was free and open to the public so that everyone could the chance to enjoy the performance of a lifetime. The original music, produced by popular South African composer Philip Miller and Thuthuka Sibisi, completed and contoured the performance with a sense of exodus, tragedy, but at the same time, hope. Incorporating typical southern Italian sounds as well as the words of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, interwoven with chants, songs from beyond Europe, it gave a solemn feeling to the work. The performance was divided into two musical processions: one representing the laments, the other representing the triumphs, and featured more than forty musicians and vocalists, including Lavinia Mancusi, Ann Masina, Joanna Dudley, Patrizia Rotonda, and Bham Ntabeni There was also a variety of instruments such as the African kori and the Italian zampogna. The score was accompanied by a live shadow play.
The press release describes the composition as: “Voices from past and present will rise and fall in the call and the response of Triumphs and Laments: a Maninkan slave song from West Africa, an ancient Southern Italian melismatic folk song, a battle song from the Zulu warriors- with Rilke’s words [recited and sung throughout]:
“That is the longing: to dwell amidst the waves/ and have no homeland in time.”
Kentridge’s work involved many people through the months that were needed to transform this grand idea into an even more magnificent reality. The Triumphs and Laments work of art is set in Piazza Tevere; if I were you I would not miss it for the world.
If you were not lucky enough to catch the inauguration here is a little something for you: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZL0prsdTeg
Triumphs and Laments
www.triumphsandlaments.com
