The Refusal of Time & Refuse the Hour
with Philip Miller, Catherine Meyburgh, Dada Masilo, Peter Galison
2012
Anti-Entropy
When mass is huge, gravity grows until it is irresistible. A black hole traps all that passes, allowing out of its gravitational field no object, no light, no trace of light, that has been attracted to it. A black hole the size of a full stop swallows the sentence. Others swallow a house, a city, a galaxy.
Is all gone, none to be retrieved? Entropy forbids all elements from entering the black chasm. As an object approaches a black hole, its wavelength lengthens, slowing down, becomes redder and redder; the information and attributes separate from the object, and remain as strings – vibrating strings, twists, knots, cats’ cradles of information, vibrating at the edge of the event horizon. The bank at the edge of the River Styx, where Charon deposits those headed for the black darkness of Hades. He keeps in his boat the attributes of they have shed. A suitcase of teeth and glasses, thoughts, stories, and old stone discus. Held in trust on account, waiting for them to be decoded, to be reconstructed, to be made new.
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+ Credits
The Refusal of Time
The Refusal of Time is a 5-channel video installation with a complex soundscape. The installation includes four steel megaphones and a breathing machine (‘elephant’).
duration 28 minutes.
Director
William Kentridge
Music and soundscape
Philip Miller
Video construction
Catherine Meyburgh
Choreography
Dada Masilo
Dramaturge
Peter Galison
Breathing machine
Jonas Lundquist, Sabine Theunissen
Sound design
Gavan Eckhart
Movement direction
Luc de Wit
Costume design
Greta Goiris
Design
Sabine Theunissen
Lighting design
Urs Schoenebaum
Megaphones
Christoff Wolmarans, Louis Olivier, Chris-Waldo de Wet
Produced by Marian Goodman Gallery (New York and Paris), Lia Rumma Gallery (Naples and Milan), Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg and Cape Town).
Commissioned by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev for dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, 2012.
Executive production Tomorrowland, Caroline Naphegyi, Olivia Sautereau.
Refuse the Hour
Chamber opera with a fragmented lecture, live music, performance, kinetic sculptures, and video projection
duration 80 minutes
First performed under the title
Dancing with Dada, Market Theatre, Johannesburg, 2011.
Conception and libretto
William Kentridge
Music
Philip Miller
Choreography
Dada Masilo
Video design
Catherine Meyburgh and
William Kentridge
Dramaturgy
Peter Galison
Scenic design
Sabine Theunissen
Movement
Luc de Wit
Costume design
Greta Goiris
Machine design
Christoff Wolmarans, Louis Olivier
and Jonas Lundquist
Lighting design
Felice Ross
Sound design
Gavan Eckhart
Video orchestration
Kim Gunning
Music direction
Adam Howard
Music arranged and orchestrated by Philip Miller and Adam Howard
Performers
William Kentridge
Dada Masilo, dancer
Ann Masina, vocalist
Joanna Dudley, vocalist
Thato Motlhaolwa, actor
Adam Howard, musical conductor,
co-orchestration,
trumpet and flugel horn
Tlale Makhene, percussion
Waldo Alexander, violin
Dan Selsick, trombone
Vincenzo Pasquariello, pianist
Thobeka Thukane, tuba
Anti-Mercator
2011
9 minutes 45 seconds
Edition of 7; 2 APs
Editing
Catherine Meyburgh
Music and soundscape
Philip Miller
Voice
Bham Ntabeni
Dancers
Dada Masilo, Thato Motlhaolwa
Sound edit
Gavan Eckhart
Refusal of Time workshop team
William Kentridge, Peter Galison, Philip Miller (music), Catherine Meyburgh (video editing), Sabine Theunissen (stage design), Greta Goiris (costumes), Urs Schoenebaum (lighting), Luc de Wit (movement and acting direction), Dada Masilo (choreography), Jonas Lundquist and Christoff Wolmarans (design and construction of machines), Wesley France (production manager), Gavan Eckhart (sound), Caroline Naphegyi (research and production), Kim Gunning (video and stage manager), Adriano Giulio Giovanelli (video synchronization), Mira Leibowitz (wardrobe assistant), Richard Pakleppa (video documentation), John Hodgkiss (stills photography)
Singers
Ann Masina, Linda van Copenhagen, Bham Ntabeni, Ntuba Thulisa Brothers Choir
Musicians
Jill Richards, Danel Bower, Etienne Mcloen, Tlale Makhene, Waldo Alexander
Dancers
Dada Masilo, Thato Motlhaolwa, Tiisetso Moreo, Songezo Mcilizeli, Lesego Ngwato, Ntsiki Khasu, Lebo Ramafuthula, Mmkgosi Kgabi, Tshepo Zasekhaya, Keiron Jina
Support
Linda Leibowitz, Natalie Dembo, Anne McIlleron, Lisa Cloete, Amber van Winsen, Nomsa Mfene, Louis Olivier, Stella Olivier
Making
A team assembled. Philip Miller (composer), to turn time into sound. Catherine Meyburgh (editor), to orchestrate the projected images. Jonas Lundquist, to make mechanical (a bellows and a bicycle wheel) the principles of relativity. Christoff Wolmarans and Louis Olivier (a bicycle wheel and a megaphone) to do the same. Sabine Theunissen (scenic designer) to make the context for the machines, the dance, the music, the projections. Greta Goiris (costume designer) to find the language in cloth and clothes for what had become an opera. Luc de Wit, to find the orchestration of the stage movements of the actors and musicians. And then an ancillary team of musicians, singers and organisers.
Until there was more team than project – and then the project filled the gaps.
What came through the conversations was that the more the science is discussed or explained, the richer are the metaphoric associations. It’s not saying the performance on stage, or the representation in films or drawings, has to be accurate – we are not trying for it to be a science lesson, where somebody comes to the piece and understands, or can do a mathematical diagram of time. But each time something is explained more clearly or more specifically, the range of metaphors and associations and ideas multiplies. One hears about things not just disappearing into a black hole, but leaving attributes of information in vibrating strings around them. This suggests a whole series of possibilities of the literal and the metaphoric; and then what they suggest in terms of manifesting in drawings, film, editing, sound, playing with sound – how they also provoke their transformation onto the wall or onto the stage.
The Refusal of Time
"The Refusal of Time", Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, March 2018
Photo: Niels Fabaek
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0004"The Refusal of Time", Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, March 2018
Photo: Niels Fabaek
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0005"The Refusal of Time", Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, March 2018
Photo: Niels Fabaek
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0006"The Refusal of Time", Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, March 2018
Photo: Niels Fabaek
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0007"The Refusal of Time", Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, March 2018
Photo: Niels Fabaek
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0008"The Refusal of Time", Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, March 2018
Photo: Niels Fabaek
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0009"The Refusal of Time", Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, March 2018
Photo: Niels Fabaek
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0010"The Refusal of Time", Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, March 2018
Photo: Niels Fabaek
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0011"The Refusal of Time", Bildmuseet Umeå, Sweden, October 2018
Bildmuseet Umeå. William Kentridge / The Refusal of Time"The Refusal of Time", Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, November 2014
Photo: Patrick de Mervelec
William_Kentridge_The_Refusal_of_Time_Install_0013
Refuse the Hour
Set for "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0001Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0002Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0003Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0004Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0005Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0006Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0007Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0008Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0009Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0010Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0011Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0012Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0013Performance of "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0014Curtain call for "Refuse the Hour", City Hall, Cape Town, February 2015
Photo: Jac de Villiers
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0015Dress rehearsal for "Refuse the Hour", Market Theatre, Johannesburg, September 2011
Photo: John Hodgkiss
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0016Dress rehearsal for "Refuse the Hour", Market Theatre, Johannesburg, September 2011
Photo: John Hodgkiss
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0017Dress rehearsal for "Refuse the Hour", Market Theatre, Johannesburg, September 2011
Photo: John Hodgkiss
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0018Dress rehearsal for "Refuse the Hour", Market Theatre, Johannesburg, September 2011
Photo: John Hodgkiss
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0019Dress rehearsal for "Refuse the Hour", Market Theatre, Johannesburg, September 2011
Photo: John Hodgkiss
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0020Dress rehearsal for "Refuse the Hour", Market Theatre, Johannesburg, September 2011
Photo: John Hodgkiss
William_Kentridge_Refusal_the_Hour_Performance_0021
Exhibitions
More
- Mechanical Drum Set from Refuse the Hour2013Percussion Instruments, drums, timber, steel, brass, aluminium and electronic componentsMore in depth description in notes below160 x 300 x 100 cm
19_217_0970 - Mechanical Drum Set from Refuse the Hour2013Percussion Instruments, drums, timber, steel, brass, aluminium and electronic componentsMore in depth description in notes below160 x 300 x 100 cm
19_217_0971 - Mechanical Drum Set from Refuse the Hour2013Percussion Instruments, drums, timber, steel, brass, aluminium and electronic componentsMore in depth description in notes below160 x 300 x 100 cm
19_217_0976 - Wooden Kinetic Megaphone2013Wood, steel, aluminum, tripod, textile, mechanical hardware and other materials220 x 82 x 72 cm
WK_Sculp_0613_9629 - Wooden Kinetic Megaphone2013Wood, steel, aluminum, tripod, textile, mechanical hardware and other materials220 x 82 x 72 cm
WK_Sculp_0613_9630 - Wooden Kinetic Megaphone2013Wood, steel, aluminum, tripod, textile, mechanical hardware and other materials220 x 82 x 72 cm
WK_Sculp_0613_9631 - Wooden Kinetic Megaphone2013Wood, steel, aluminum, tripod, textile, mechanical hardware and other materials220 x 82 x 72 cm
WK_Sculp_0613_9636 - Small Bellows2012Steel, wood, bellows and steel cable and other materials180 x 80 x 80 cm
Kent_Sculp_082012_8148 - Small Bellows2012Steel, wood, bellows and steel cable and other materials180 x 80 x 80 cm
Kent_Sculp_082012_8150 - Kinetic Sculpture from The Refusal of Time (with tube)2012Bicycle wheel, aluminium sheets, tripod, mild steel, wood, castors,mechanical hardware and other materials290 x 120 x 150 cm
kent_time_studio_022 - Kinetic Sculpture from The Refusal of Time (with tube)2012Bicycle wheel, aluminium sheets, tripod, mild steel, wood, castors,mechanical hardware and other materials290 x 120 x 150 cm
kent_time_studio_021 - Large Bellows2012Steel, wood, bellows, brass, tripod, aluminium sheet, cardboard, textile, leather and other materials250 x 150 x 150 cm
WK_sculp_Nov12_8670 - Large Bellows2012Steel, wood, bellows, brass, tripod, aluminium sheet, cardboard, textile, leather and other materials250 x 150 x 150 cm
WK_sculp_Nov12_8675 - Large Bellows2012Steel, wood, bellows, brass, tripod, aluminium sheet, cardboard, textile, leather and other materials250 x 150 x 150 cm
WK_sculp_Nov12_8684 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
2014 EMMA finland Refusal_Time-9484 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
2018 aalborg Niels Fabaek - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Bomb room VP3_6 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Procession VP1_5 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
2014 Kyoto_DSC0710 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
2018 aalborg Niels Fabaek_NFF3795 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
2018 aalborg Niels Fabaek_NFF3804 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
2014 EMMA finland-9470 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
2018 aalborg Niels Fabaek_NFF3811 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
2018 aalborg Niels Fabaek_NFF3812 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
2019 Umea William Kentridge1 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
W.K THE REFUSAL OF TIME 0769 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Bomb room VP3_2 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Confetti megaphones VP4_1 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Confetti nude VP5_1 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Confetti VP1_2 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Dance Mecanique2 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Dance mechanique VP2 1_5 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
How do I know VP1_3 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
How do I know VP4_1 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
How do I know VP5_4 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Machine room VP1_2 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Machine room VP1_4 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Machine room VP2_2 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Machine room VP2_4 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Map room VP4_4 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Metronomes VP1 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Procession VP1_3 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Procession VP1_6 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Procession VP2_8 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Procession VP2_9 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Universe VP2 - The Refusal of Time20125-channel HD projection with megaphones and breathing machine30 minutesEdition of 6
Zoetrop W_K read_twirl - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Zoetrope W_D chairs1 - The Refusal of Time201224 MinutesEdition of 6
Zoetrope W_K read_twirl - Zoetrope II2012Charcoal, chalk and coloured pencil on book pages (Johannes Voet: Commentarius ad Pandectas 1757)205 x 112.5 cm
WK_draw_Sept2012_2049 V2 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Man with Megaphone)2012Indian ink on book pages270 x 131 cm
WK_draw_Sept2012_1926 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (As If I Could Swallow What I Had Just Said)2012Indian ink and digital print on various dictionary book pages148 x 95 cm
WK_draw_Sept2012_1919 - The Full Stop Swallows the Sentence2012Lithograph and collage on various paper attached to Arches White 400gsm70 x 86 cmEdition of 35
61356 - Undo Unsay Unremember2012Lithograph and collage on various paper attached to Arches White 400gsmEdition of 35
image002 - Monitor2012Lithograph and collage on various paper attached to Arches White 400gsmEdition of 35
61358 - A Universal Archive2012Lithograph and collage on various paper attached to Arches White 400gsmEdition of 35
61359 - Sospiri & Tracce2012Charcoal , chalk and coloured pencil on book pages: Johannes Voet: Commentarius ad Pandectas 1757. Each page 28 x 23 cm203 x 102 cm
WK_draw_Sept2012_2044 V2 - Kinetic sculpture2011Steel, steel model components, wood, textile, G-clamp, mechanical hardware and other materials194 x 91 x 88 cm
kent_time_studio_037 - Kinetic sculpture2011Steel, steel model components, wood, textile, G-clamp, mechanical hardware and other materials194 x 91 x 88 cm
kent_time_studio_039 - Kinetic sculpture2011Steel, steel model components, wood, textile, G-clamp, mechanical hardware and other materials194 x 91 x 88 cm
kent_time_studio_034 - Kinetic sculpture2011Steel, steel model components, wood, textile, G-clamp, mechanical hardware and other materials194 x 91 x 88 cm
Kentridge Sculptures-11 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Prologue)2011Poster paint, charcoal and coloured pencil on brown paper150 x 230 cm
63602 - Sketches for the Refusal of Time (Procession)2011Ink, watercolour and pencil on Paper
kent_figs_001 crop - Sketch for the Refusal of Time (Man with Tuba)2011Ink, watercolour and pencil on paper
kent_figs_003 - Sketch for The Refusal of Time (Woman with Bird on Head)2011Ink, watercolour and pencil on paper
kent_figs_004 - Sketch for The Refusal of Time (Woman in Bird Dress)2011Ink, watercolour, pencil and collage on paper
kent_figs_005 - Sketch for The Refusal of Time (Man in Globe Suit)2011Ink, watercolour and pencil on paper
kent_figs_007 - Kinetic Megaphone (with White Flag)2011Steel, found objects, tripod, textile, mechanical hardware and other materials172 x 54 x 50 cmEdition of 3
kent_time_studio_023 - Kinetic Megaphone (with White Flag)2011Steel, found objects, tripod, textile, mechanical hardware and other materials172 x 54 x 50 cmEdition of 3
kent_time_studio_024 - Kinetic Sculpture from film Drawing Lesson 46 (Megaphone with Red Hand Drill)2011Painted steel structure, hand drill, G-clamp, mechanical hardware and other materials172 x 58 x 58 cmEdition of 3
kent_time_studio_027 - Kinetic Sculpture from film Drawing Lesson 46 (Megaphone with Red Hand Drill)2011Painted steel structure, hand drill, G-clamp, mechanical hardware and other materials172 x 58 x 58 cmEdition of 3
kent_time_studio_029 - Bicycle Wheel II2011Bicycle wheel, gears and chain,steel, wood, brass, aluminium sheets,tripod, castors, mechanical hardwareand other materials260 x 100 x 100 cm
61656 - Bicycle Wheel II2011Bicycle wheel, gears and chain,steel, wood, brass, aluminium sheets,tripod, castors, mechanical hardwareand other materials260 x 100 x 100 cm
Kent_Sculp_082012_8170 - Kinetic Sculpture from The Refusal of Time (C-Curve)2011Found objects, mild steel, aluminium sheets, wood230 x 100 x 100 cm
kent_time_studio_058 - Kinetic Sculpture from The Refusal of Time (C-Curve)2011Found objects, mild steel, aluminium sheets, wood230 x 100 x 100 cm
kent_time_studio_055 - Semaphore2011Wood, steel, mechanical hardware, castors and paint300 x 160 x 140 cm
19_215_WK_0713 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti1 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti4 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti6 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti13 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti2 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti3 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti5 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti7 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti8 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti9 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti10 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti11 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti12 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti14 - Anti-Mercator2011HD Transferred to DVD9 min 53 secEdition of 7
Anti15 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (He That Fled His Fate)2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper, diptych198 x 267 cm
kent_works_05_11_015 - Untitled2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper
63603 - Untitked2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper
63605 - Untitled2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper
63607 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Man Holding Megaphone)2011Oil stick, charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on card152 x 134 cm
kent_time_draw_II_010 V2 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Anti-Mercator)2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper241 x 180 cm
kent_time_draw_II_011 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Dada with Hat)2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper
kent_time_draw_II_012 V2 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Man Alongside Banner)2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper260 x 152.5 cm
kent_works_05_11_014 V2 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Anti-Entropy)2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper259 x 346 cm
kent_works_05_11_016 V2 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (In Praise of Bad Clocks)2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper258 x 143 cm
kent_works_05_11_018 V2 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Resist the Day)2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper258 x 141 cm
kent_works_05_11_028 V2 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Rumours and Impossibilities)2011Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper257 x 148.5 cm
kent_works_05_11_030 V2 - Drawing for Refusal of Time (Anti-Entropy / Dances for Those Who Should Know Better)2011Charcoal, poster paint and coloured pencil on dress makers pattern paperDiptych, 224 x 152 (L) cm, 230 x 152 cm (R)
kent_01_11_2011_001 hi - Undo, Unsay, Unsave, Unremember, Unhappen2011Stone Lithograph printed on 250 gsm Arches White paperEdition of 24
William Undo - Self Portrait as a Coffee Pot2011Lithograph, collage and coloured pencil on various papers attached to Arches White 400gsm98,5 cm x 80 cmEdition of 35
William Self Portrait as a coffee Pot approval - Bicycle (Trio)2011Bicycle wheels, gears and chain, steel structure, mechanicalhardware and found objects281 x 236 x 105 cm
kent_time_studio_071 - Drawing for The Refusal of Time (Unbind the Artist)2010Charcoal, coloured pencil and poster paint on brown pattern-makers paper259 x 141.5 cm
kent_works_05_11_017 V2
Reading
Credits
The Refusal of Time
The Refusal of Time is a 5-channel video installation with a complex soundscape. The installation includes four steel megaphones and a breathing machine (‘elephant’).
duration 28 minutes.
Director
William Kentridge
Music and soundscape
Philip Miller
Video construction
Catherine Meyburgh
Choreography
Dada Masilo
Dramaturge
Peter Galison
Breathing machine
Jonas Lundquist, Sabine Theunissen
Sound design
Gavan Eckhart
Movement direction
Luc de Wit
Costume design
Greta Goiris
Design
Sabine Theunissen
Lighting design
Urs Schoenebaum
Megaphones
Christoff Wolmarans, Louis Olivier, Chris-Waldo de Wet
Produced by Marian Goodman Gallery (New York and Paris), Lia Rumma Gallery (Naples and Milan), Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg and Cape Town).
Commissioned by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev for dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, 2012.
Executive production Tomorrowland, Caroline Naphegyi, Olivia Sautereau.
Refuse the Hour
Chamber opera with a fragmented lecture, live music, performance, kinetic sculptures, and video projection
duration 80 minutes
First performed under the title
Dancing with Dada, Market Theatre, Johannesburg, 2011.
Conception and libretto
William Kentridge
Music
Philip Miller
Choreography
Dada Masilo
Video design
Catherine Meyburgh and
William Kentridge
Dramaturgy
Peter Galison
Scenic design
Sabine Theunissen
Movement
Luc de Wit
Costume design
Greta Goiris
Machine design
Christoff Wolmarans, Louis Olivier
and Jonas Lundquist
Lighting design
Felice Ross
Sound design
Gavan Eckhart
Video orchestration
Kim Gunning
Music direction
Adam Howard
Music arranged and orchestrated by Philip Miller and Adam Howard
Performers
William Kentridge
Dada Masilo, dancer
Ann Masina, vocalist
Joanna Dudley, vocalist
Thato Motlhaolwa, actor
Adam Howard, musical conductor,
co-orchestration,
trumpet and flugel horn
Tlale Makhene, percussion
Waldo Alexander, violin
Dan Selsick, trombone
Vincenzo Pasquariello, pianist
Thobeka Thukane, tuba
Anti-Mercator
2011
9 minutes 45 seconds
Edition of 7; 2 APs
Editing
Catherine Meyburgh
Music and soundscape
Philip Miller
Voice
Bham Ntabeni
Dancers
Dada Masilo, Thato Motlhaolwa
Sound edit
Gavan Eckhart
Refusal of Time workshop team
William Kentridge, Peter Galison, Philip Miller (music), Catherine Meyburgh (video editing), Sabine Theunissen (stage design), Greta Goiris (costumes), Urs Schoenebaum (lighting), Luc de Wit (movement and acting direction), Dada Masilo (choreography), Jonas Lundquist and Christoff Wolmarans (design and construction of machines), Wesley France (production manager), Gavan Eckhart (sound), Caroline Naphegyi (research and production), Kim Gunning (video and stage manager), Adriano Giulio Giovanelli (video synchronization), Mira Leibowitz (wardrobe assistant), Richard Pakleppa (video documentation), John Hodgkiss (stills photography)
Singers
Ann Masina, Linda van Copenhagen, Bham Ntabeni, Ntuba Thulisa Brothers Choir
Musicians
Jill Richards, Danel Bower, Etienne Mcloen, Tlale Makhene, Waldo Alexander
Dancers
Dada Masilo, Thato Motlhaolwa, Tiisetso Moreo, Songezo Mcilizeli, Lesego Ngwato, Ntsiki Khasu, Lebo Ramafuthula, Mmkgosi Kgabi, Tshepo Zasekhaya, Keiron Jina
Support
Linda Leibowitz, Natalie Dembo, Anne McIlleron, Lisa Cloete, Amber van Winsen, Nomsa Mfene, Louis Olivier, Stella Olivier