Why Your Next Big Idea Needs a Humble Notebook
‘History on One Leg’ at the A4 Arts Foundation in Cape Town.
I am someone who loves making handwritten notes and doodles. I tend to always have some form of notebook or sketchbook with me - to jot down ideas, make scribbles or draw something. Although I also make use of my phone for keeping notes, my pen and paper notebook is never far away. I find that writing something with my hand - putting pen to paper - often helps me get over creative blocks.
Another person who loves writing ideas in notebooks is William Kentridge, a South African artist who works in a range of media - from hand-drawn animated films to drawings and theatre productions.
I first came across his work when I stumbled upon an exhibition, 'Thick Time', at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. I was blown away. Since then, I have been fortunate to see a number of his works - from a mammoth exhibition at the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town in 2019, showcasing his life's work to date, to a theatre production at the Cape Town City Hall. 'Faustus in Africa!', a collaboration between William Kentridge and the Handspring Puppet Company, is currently showing at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town and will also be on show at the Edinburgh International Festival in August this year.
Kentridge is known for larger-than-life productions that tend to mesmerise the audience.
More recently, however, I saw another exhibition of his - this time on a much smaller scale. For 'History on One Leg', currently showing at the A4 Arts Foundation in Cape Town, Kentridge decided to put his humble sketchbooks on display.
However, don't be fooled by the simple appearance and subject matter of this exhibition. As always, his work tends to leave a profound impression on me. Thirty sketchbooks were selected from a total of 120, and each one has been carefully reproduced to look exactly like the original - from the cover to reproducing cutouts from newspaper articles glued to the pages. I was mesmerised.
Every artist knows - the sketchbook or notebook can be deeply personal. It felt like such an intimate act, being able to page through the sketchbooks and get a glimpse at his process.
Not only this - in this process Kentridge elevates the notebook from being something that belongs behind the scenes to an integral part of the process, and perhaps even the end result.
"Within this exhibition, even the notebooks themselves are becoming a kind of work, which they've never been until now."
What also struck me was how Kentridge does not block himself. Any idea is welcome. He says this:
"The studio needs to be a place where propositions don't need to be censored before they are made. They can be allowed to come forward. Either they will hold their own - or not."
In today's era where the notion of posting on social media is always lurking in the background, the very idea of posting about your process can inhibit your idea generation, if what you share online is finely curated. I think sharing your process should be encouraged, but not at the detriment of allowing for ideas to develop.
Reflecting on Kentridge's process has reminded me of making sure that I do not limit my own creative process and that all ideas are welcome, especially in the studio!