Critique of "Walking Man"

William Kentridge’s Walking Man is a vertically oriented linocut print on canvas that prominently features the figure of a walking man who, apparently lacking arms, has had his head replaced with a tree or some similarly formed shrubbery. This man is situated in the print such that his feet (in the process of taking a step) are in the lower-left corner of the print and his shoulders are located in the center of the print and his tree-head takes up almost the entirety of the upper half of the print. This creates a dark mass of visual weight that cuts diagonally across the otherwise light print from the bottom left to the to the top right. The background is composed of free-hand horizontal lines that vary in weight to give the impression of a cloud-filled sky. These horizontal lines suggest a kind of movement – possibly wind – which the figure, leaning forward, appears to being struggling against. In the lower right corner there are two, small electrical towers with a tiny tree situated between them which together suggest that the figure, who is the dominant feature of this print is an enormous giant.

This print appears to be rich in symbolism. Trees are commonly used to represent “green movements” or environmentalism and the power lines or electrical towers are no doubt a symbol of industrialization or everything that is opposed to environmental or naturalist movements. The relationship of these two symbols in the field seems to suggest something about the relative value that the artist places on the ideas of nature and industrial civilization. The power lines are placed below the figure, suggesting that they are subordinate to the figure.

I think, though, that the artist was not trying to make some sort of simple statement like “nature will prevail over technology and industrial civilization” because certain other elements of this image complicate that simple analysis. For one, the figure appears to be dressed formally as he is wearing a suit and shoes with heels. Also, the figure lacks arms and is apparently leaning forward, struggling to move through the wind. Puzzlingly, figure’s suit is almost entirely black. Black is a color that we often associate with nefarious or scary things. It seems like it would be odd to dress a symbol of nature in this attire and paint him this color.