Walking Man Response

William Kentridge's "Walking man" is a highly textured print. The subject of the composition begins as a man, yet becomes a tree as you trace upwards from his boots. His size is given by subtleties in the background of small trees and iron towers that are tiny in comparison to the man. The man towers over his landscape and yet becomes his landscape at the same time, as the tree that grows out of him stretches way beyond the borders of the composition.

The negative space is depicted in horizontal lines and is mostly white, while the positive space is represented by vertical lines and is mostly black. The lines create texture and motion. The man is walking and because of his titanic size even just the suggestion of a step leaves the impression of colossal motion. The motion in the composition serves as a unifier. Although the man is not centered, the direction of his step balances the composition.

The sporadic branches coming out of the man create chaos in the composition, yet they are all stretching upward and are therefore not chaotic in their overall appearance. The texture, enormity of the subject, and line directions all have the above affect. They are chaotic in their detailed appearance, but overall, as a whole, the piece is balanced and unified.

The man is also wearing clothing, possible denim, and boots that appear to be of a working man. The man has such power in the artwork yet the clothing he wears suggests that he lacks wealth and power in terms of prestige. It is also interesting to view a portrayal of a half man-half tree where the top half is the tree and the bottom half is the man. A tree is often used metaphorically as something sturdy and rooted into the ground, yet this man-tree is in motion and not attached to the ground he walks over. In this way, Kentridge plays with the representational ideas and meanings of a man and tree. While a tree is often portrayed as massive and a part of nature, and while man is often portrayed as minimal next to nature, Kentridge combines the two to create an equal, balanced, creature.