William Kentridge

It’s hard to think of an artist with a more striking and ambitious range than William Kentridge; his work spans etching, drawing, collage, huge tapestries - as well as film, theatre, dance and opera. He was born in Johannesburg and brought up during the apartheid regime; his art is highly politically charged. His parents, both lawyers, were notable figures in the anti-apartheid movement – his father being Sir Sydney Kentridge, who represented Nelson Mandela. For forty years now William Kentridge has used his art to explore the legacy of colonialism, and the barbarity of war. He’s probably best known for his charcoal sketches, which become stop-go animations, preserving almost every change and rubbing-out. But he has a keen eye for the absurdity of life too, so we watch typewriters turn into trees, birds flying off the pages of dictionaries, or a film titled “Portrait of the artist as a coffee pot”.

In conversation with Michael Berkeley, William Kentridge talks about the importance of music in his work, and brings a playlist that reflects a lifetime of listening. We hear a famous 1937 recording of a Monteverdi madrigal; Janet Baker singing one of the songs from “Les Nuits d’ete” by Berlioz; a duet from The Magic Flute; a rare recording of the American guitarist Elizabeth Cotten; and a collaboration between the Kronos Quartet and a trio of musicians from Mali.

He looks back to his childhood in South Africa, and what it was like to grow up under the cruel system of apartheid; and he reveals how important early failures were in enabling him to see the way forward.

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 3 Produced by Elizabeth Burke