A comprehensive tour of William Kentridge’s Triumphs and Laments: A Project for Rome, T&L features an interactive audiovisual tour of Kentridge’s newest work on Rome’s Tiber River; never before seen images and video of the artist at work on his most ambitious project to date; interviews with his longtime collaborator, composer Philip Miller, and artistic director Kristin Jones, as well as scholars, curators, and other members of the creative team; footage of the opening event, including live musical performance and shadow play; information about the more than eighty historical figures depicted in the frieze; a map of Rome landmarks and artworks referenced in the project; and so much more.
William Kentridge’s Triumphs and Laments is a 550-meter long, 10-meter high frieze erased from the biological patina on the embankment walls that line Rome’s urban waterfront. More than eighty figures depict Rome’s greatest victories and defeats from mythological time to present day, forming a silhouetted procession on Piazza Tevere, TEVERETERNO’s adopted site between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Mazzini on Rome’s Tiber River.
The work opened on April 21-22, 2016 (in celebration of the symbolic founding of the City of Rome) with the premiere of a once in a lifetime theatrical event created by William Kentridge in collaboration with composer Philip Miller, featuring original music and live shadow play performed against the backdrop of the frieze. Bringing together performers and music from both the Italian folk tradition and from the city’s large and multifaceted immigrant population, the work is conceived specifically for the City of Rome, seen as a meeting place between different civilizations.
For more information, please visit: www.triumphsandlaments.com.
Triumphs and Laments : A Project for Rome was conceived by artist William Kentridge in collaboration with composer Philip Miller, under the artistic direction of Kristin Jones. The project is promoted by Associazione TEVERETERNO Onlus and produced by THE OFFICE performing arts + film with technical direction by STEP s.r.l.
Triumphs and Laments was produced in collaboration with: MAXXI | Museo nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo and Museo dArte Contemporanea (MACRO), with the generous support of: Galleria Lia Rumma (Naples, Milan), Marian Goodman Gallery (New York, London, Paris), and Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg, Cape Town), Brenda R. Potter, Agnes Gund, the Isambard Kingdom Brunel Society of North America, Guidebook, MIBAC - Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo, American Academy in Rome, and Roma Capitale; and additional funding from: Anna Bulgari, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Antoinette Guerrini-Maraldi, Illycaffè, Carol LeWitt, Stephen Metcalf, Joyce Pomeroy-Schwartz, William Weiller, Mark & Aline Weiller, and others; as well as the immeasurable contributions of hundreds of dedicated volunteers over many years.