In 2009, artist Marco Brambilla took us on a sensory rollercoaster from Heaven to Hell, and everywhere in between, with his acclaimed video, “Civilization,” which is on permanent display in the elevators at The Standard, New York. Now, Marco has been commissioned by international recording artist, Kanye West, to bring you “POWER,” the video for Kanye’s first single in two years. This neo-classical collaboration, inspired by the works of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes, depicts decadence, corruption, and excess, by using a series of interconnecting layered images to create seamless visual mosaics in a breathtaking infusion of art and music. Read more and watch the uncensored directors cut for POWER after the jump!
“My aim was to set the Sistine Chapel frescos in motion and populate it with characters symbolizing power in all its forms. Nihilism is part of the message Kanye wanted to convey and a theme that is strongly present in his music and lyrics, so I made that feeling larger-than life using a familiar composition and borrowing heavily from the old masters.” – Marco Brambilla
Power is a neo-classical video tableau, a single continuous camera move from an extreme close up of Mr. West gradually revealing an epic composition showing characters and creatures surrounding him in an abstract environment – all moving in extreme slow motion. Inspired by Michelangelo’s frescos in the Sistine Chapel, the piece depicts a faux historical moment – an empire on the brink of collapse from its own excess, decadence and corruption.
The mostly-nude icons (including models Diandra Forrest, Jessica White, and Irina Shayk) reference imagery from almost every historical era, surrounding Kanye in an orgy of decadence and destruction. Mr. West’s place at the center of the universe seems to be in a precarious state in Brambilla’s video work.
In making Power, Mr. Brambilla has evolved the video collage technique he created for his epic 2009 video installation, Civilization (commissioned by hotelier André Balazs for The Standard, New York). The imagery for Power was shot specifically for the piece and has been layered to create compelling new narratives and stunning visual mosaics. With exquisite technical production and seamless editing, Brambilla’s multi-layered tableaux of interconnecting images and looped video blend into an expansive landscape that forms his hallmark style.
In recent years, Kanye West has fostered the cross pollination between the worlds of art and music, working with greats such as Takashi Murakami on the artwork for his album, Graduation, and more recently, iconic American painter George Condo for the album cover artwork for his new CD. Marco Brambilla’s outstanding collaboration with Mr. West will further solidify the relationship between the two art forms.
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