Artworks like Courbet's stone breakers, "Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt", and Kentridge's reverse graffiti mural share common features in narrative depth and the utilization of texture, both actual and simulated, to articulate cultural and socio-economic messages.
The commonality between the artworks mentioned, such as the stone breakers in Courbet's painting, the shallow relief carving of "Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt", and the reverse graffiti mural by Kentridge, lies in their rich narrative and the use of texture or simulated texture to convey messages.
For instance, the stone breakers are depicted within their socio-economic context, trapped by their labor with the textured background enhancing their isolation. Similarly, the relief carving on the limestone surface in "Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt" uses actual and simulated texture to depict various elements of the scene, such as the wig texture versus the skin.
Kentridge's reverse graffiti mural, with its removal of grime to reveal images, juxtaposes history and the present, displaying a narrative depicted through the contrasts of the natural texture of moss and human-generated pollution. All these artworks demonstrate culture and art being inextricably linked and highlight various methods and techniques used to convey their narratives.