Kentridge Plans Massive Roman Mural
South African artist William Kentridge, whose “Lulu” is the production I’m most looking forward to at the Met this season, has another project on his horizon: In April, Kentridge will unveil “Triumphs and Laments,†a 550-meter (1,804 feet) frieze along the embankment of Rome’s Tiber River. The project, first conceived 14 years ago, is sponsored by Tevereterno, an organization working to revitalize Rome’s riverfront both physically and artistically (previous works include a series of projections by Jenny Holzer). Kentridge’s frieze will be shaped using a technique called “reverse graffiti,†in which large, figurative stencils will be placed on the Tiber’s embankment and the wall then power-washed around them. The resulting images will be fashioned from dirt and accumulated pollution, and will disappear as the surrounding stone slowly becomes soiled again.
