They are not the first, however, to draw from Western art and art history or to use recognizable art locations to make a statement about access and power. Courtesy: the artistsīy packaging and selling their version of blackness, black bodies, and black culture, the Carters have asserted their right (and, by extension, the right of all black people) to do so while at the same time exploiting to their advantage the very culture that has, for so long, excluded people like them. Perhaps most important and timely is that ‘Apeshit’ is a video that begs contemplation in the context of recent incidents (the case in April of two black men arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks for ‘trespassing’ while waiting for a business meeting comes to mind) in which the presence of black bodies in public spaces has raised paranoid fears among some white people about dark bodies and their claim to those spaces.īeyoncé and Jay-Z, ‘Apeshit’, 2018, film still. It’s about arrival and survival through declaration of one’s hard-earned position in society. It is about establishing a new order in which black bodies seize and command cultural and physical spaces from which they have traditionally been excluded and are typically marginalized. To be sure, ‘Apeshit’ is all about bodies – an orchestrated contrast of energetically writhing and animated black physiques set against frozen white forms of the past. The video is an unapologetic visual and sonic manifesto about spaces, power, and control. ‘Apeshit’ is an arresting, and I would even go so far as to say brilliant video for what it does and does not do for what it reveals and conceals for the ways in which it meaningfully appropriates, exploits, and reinterprets Western paintings and sculptures as a way to chart and celebrate the Carters’s public and commercial success, and black bodies in an artistic canon inextricably linked to histories of colonialism. The video begins with fragments and close-ups of European paintings from the Louvre, a hallowed cultural space where masterpieces of European culture and civilization are housed, where imperial and colonial might through conquest and acquisition are put on grand display. For Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z, the measured exploitation of these things through high art and popular culture is best witnessed in ‘Apeshit,’ a track and accompanying 6-minute video from their first joint album called Everything is Love. Revisit the now-iconic music video for “Apes-t” below.Spanning the terrain from high art to popular culture and everything in-between, the complexity of race, gender, and culture continues to dog us. The Louvre also capitalized on the endorsement of the powerhouse couple by turning footage from their visit into a 90-minute “JAY-Z and Beyoncé at the Louvre” themed tour in July. At the time of the visual’s release in June 2018, a spokesperson shared that the couple “visited the Louvre four times in the last 10 years.”Ī spokesperson also added, “The deadlines were very tight, but the Louvre was quickly convinced because the synopsis showed a real attachment to the museum and its beloved artworks.” How much the couple paid to rent out the museum and receive unprecedented access remains unknown. The Louvre has remained relatively tight-lipped regarding how the music video and its concept came to be executed. This likely could also be credited to the Carters’ undeniable influence and high-profile music video, which has since been viewed more than 150 million times. “The Beyoncé video, like the opening of the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, ensured that the Louvre was talked about across the world, and one of the consequences of that is the spectacular rise in visitor numbers last year.”Īdditionally, the museum maintains its ability to attract young visitors by citing that 50% of its clientele are under the age of 30. ![]() “It’s clear that 2018 was a remarkable year for the international reputation of the Louvre,” the museum’s director, Jean-Luc Martinez, shared in an interview during a French radio appearance. According to The Guardian, the increase in attendance makes for the museum’s best year since 2012, during which 9.7 million visitors frequented its galleries. While the Louvre is already credited as the most popular museum in the world, the Carters helped break a new visitor record.Īs reported, over 10 million people visited the iconic location in 2018, resulting in a 25 percent rise in visitors from the previous year. ![]() The stunning visual, directed by frequent collaborator Ricky Saiz, featured the power couple running through their fierce vocal contributions in front of an Egyptian sphinx, an internationally renowned collection of neo-classical French paintings, and the glorious architecture of the famed museum. Beyoncé and JAY-Z upped the ante last year by filming their music video for the Everything Is Love cut “Apes-t” in the Louvre.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |