Chris Cunningham, Madonna. Frozen, 1998. Warner Music Group.
From 3rd July LABoral the exhibition space in Gijon, Spain is showing eCLIPSe, an exhibition engaging on a journey through the creative world of music videos with a selection of the 50 videos which, throughout history, are considered to be crucial for an understanding of a discipline. It has been consolidated as both a form of artistic expression in itself and as an intersection between the visual arts and cultural industries.
The year 1975 is considered to be a pivotal moment in the history of music. Queen, the British band, released the single Bohemian Rhapsody, accompanied by what was probably the first video in history aware of its status as a medium. Years later, in 1983, Michael Jackson and his legendary Thriller paved the way for the video as a concept and as industry support for music publishing. Since then, and initially thanks to the television channel MTV which required every single released by record labels to be illustrated with audiovisual backing, video clips have earned undisputed respect.
The video as a form of artistic expression is included in visual arts and, in some cases even viewed as avant-garde, although the functions it serves as a music video - namely that of promoting a song, group or singer – ought not to be forgotten. Many of the advances in the visual production of the most widely respected arts, such as film, were originally created and tested in the music video world, even its narrative rhythm has set standards for the spectator. Likewise, the inextricable bond with the language of advertising is also evident.
At LABoral’s Mediateca Expandida in Gijon, Spain, a space dedicated to experimenting with new forms of distribution and access to art which is capable of pushing the boundaries of the conventional exhibition, the exhibition traces a historical path and also include monographs on two of the most seminal video directors: the Frenchman Michel Gondry and British Chris Cunningham. Amazing !
