William Kentridge receives the 1999 Carnegie Prize

Pittsburgh, PA November 12, 1999… the 1999 Carnegie Prize was awarded to William Kentridge (b. 1955, South Africa), for his film Stereoscope, 1999. The prize, which comes with a $10,000 cash award, was one of the highlight events at last week’s opening of the 1999 Carnegie International. Richard Armstrong, The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art said that, "on behalf of the Jury of Award, the museum was delighted to honor Kentridge for this exceptional film," noting that, "Kentridge has produced an influential body of work that helps reintroduce South African art to the world."

Kentridge, whose work was first exhibited in and around Johannesburg in the late 1970’s, has participated in numerous international shows including Memory and Geography (1995), Africus Johannesburg Biennale (1995), 10^th Biennale of Sydney (1996), Documenta X Kassel (1997), the 48^th Venice Biennale (1999). Solo shows of Kentridge’s work have been presented at the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (1992, 1994, 1997), Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (1998), and The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1999). Kentridge has also directed and designed many theater productions, including the highly acclaimed Ubu and the Truth Commission (1997).

The film Stereoscope was produced by Kentridge using a unique process of animation. For each film sequence, Kentridge begins with a single charcoal drawing, which he modifies either by additions or erasures. The labor-intensive filmmaking process, visible to the viewer in the finished work, becomes a metaphoric parallel to the deliberate acts of effacement and remembrance that characterize South Africa’s post-apartheid state. Kentridge references the stereoscope, a photographic device that produces the illusion of a three-dimensional image by combining two pictures of a single subject taken from different points of view.

The Jury of Award was comprised of Richard Armstrong, the 1999 Carnegie International Advisory Committee members Okwui Enwezor, artistic director of Documenta XI; Susanne Ghez, director of The Renaissance Society, University of Chicago; and Lars Nittve, director of the Tate Gallery of Modern Art, London; and Carnegie Museum of Art Board members Marcia Gumberg and Edith H. Fisher.

The 1999 Carnegie International is open now through March 26, 2000 at Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The museums and library are located at 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. Museums are open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission prices are $6 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, $4 for children and students, and free for Carnegie members.

The 1999 Carnegie International is sponsored by Mellon Financial Corporation.

Major support is provided by income from the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust Endowment Fund, and by The Grable Foundation; The Heinz Endowments; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; US Airways; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; The Bohen Foundation; The Peter Norton Family Foundation; and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Additional support has been received from the Danish Contemporary Art Foundation; The Henry L. Hillman Foundation; The Broad Art Foundation, Santa Monica; the Government of Canada/Gouvernement du Canada; ArtPace, A Foundation for Contemporary Art/San Antonio; The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany; Susan and Lewis Manilow; The Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation; Simone and Heinz Ackermans; the Mondriaan Foundation; The British Council; the Trust for Mutual Understanding; The Government of Flanders, Belgium; and the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Additional in-kind contributions have been provided by Safway Steel Scaffolds Company of Pittsburgh; the Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens; Nextel Communications; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Crystal Springs; and The Flower Barn.

Local partners include Frick Art and Historical Center, Mattress Factory, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Silver Eye Center for Photography, The Andy Warhol Museum, Westin William Penn, WQED Pittsburgh/Pittsburgh Magazine, Wood Street Galleries, and WYEP-FM.

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