The video for Run the World (Girls) recalls the work of South African photographer Pieter Hugo. But is it homage or appropriation?
The music business may be shrinking, but there's still an elite group of artists who can afford mega-budget videos. One of them is Beyonc�, who on Wednesday night (18 May) debuted Run the World (Girls), prompting adjectives such as "post-apocalyptic", "futuristic" and "amazing". The Daily Mail compared the choreography to Riverdance; the words Mad Max were bandied around too. Yet the most obvious influence is the work of South African photographer Pieter Hugo. His images of the "hyena men" of Nigeria ? itinerant circus entertainers who perform with hyenas on chains ? are echoed in a scene where Beyonc�, well ... holds two hyenas on chains. The work of another photographer, Ed Kashi, can also be discerned in shots of buffalo, sand and burning cars.
There's nothing new about borrowing, but it's unusual for disturbing imagery to be plundered for glossy commercial purposes. While there's something undeniably mesmerising about Hugo's portraits of masked men and Kashi's photographs of Nigerian farmers slaughtering animals, it's uncomfortable seeing them referenced in a pop video (this one is directed by Francis Lawrence). There's a big difference between near-destitute men holding hyenas on chains to earn a living, and Beyonc� posing in a couture dress with two big cats blown up thanks to the miracles of CGI. Is it homage, or appropriation?
As the internet gives us access to more obscure material, so this cultural collage becomes not just easier but inevitable. As the old references ? A Clockwork Orange, Cabaret, 2001 ? are used up, savvy pop artists (or their creative teams) look further afield. In the past few months, Lady Gaga has borrowed from video artist Bill Viola for Judas, Lykke Li has said the promo for Get Some was inspired by psychedelic film-maker Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Kanye West has referenced Gaspar No�'s mindbending Enter the Void for All of the Lights.
However, none of these artists (usually) get paid or credited. Indeed, the estate of Guy Bourdin sued when Madonna recreated some of his fashion photographs for the video to Hollywood; in the 90s, the Face magazine wasn't pleased when the video for En Vogue's Whatever borrowed from a Sean Ellis photoshoot. It's also debatable as to whether the appropriated imagery has the power of the original ? too often it's commercialised and watered down. Yet it's also a tribute to the strength of the original work. In 2011, "spot the reference" is a game that need never end.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/may/20/beyonce-visual-artists
Genelle Frenoy Georgianna Robertson Georgina Grenville Gina Carano
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