South African artist William Kentridge’s ink drawings on dictionary pages direct our attention to the uncanny, almost magical way that language and meaning function.
There must be a Wittgenstein reference in Kentridge’s work, as it was Wittgenstein who transformed metaphysical coffee house chatter when he said: “Meaning is use.” In other words, we create meaning by living, by using what is around us, and language is everywhere around.
Anyway, Kentridge’s images are deeply cool. Above, a naked man occupies the space between “good-tempered” and “gore.”
Below, the artist shows us the not-so-wide gap between “pornography” and “portable.”
The woman below, who resembles a tea kettle, marks the divide between “preservative” and “press.”
However, for Kentridge, a naked lady with upheld arms stands in front of words like “towered” and “toxic.”
Finally, the word “turn” has so many meanings, so many uses, that it gets its own page.
Photos taken in Bogotá’s Museo del Banco de la República, where the exhibit “Fortuna” is open until Monday, July 7th.