A serene sunset look on a cloudy horizon is presented to your eyes, inspirational words being preached loudly in the background. The camera sinks slowly into the fog, then a sudden cut to grainy footage. The video appears to be shot on a camera from the 1990's, giving the viewer a trippy/panic-inducing experience seeing rapid jump-cuts of up-close faces, naked bodies, and tangled sheets, all backtracked by talking, static, and muffled whirring. An iconic voice belts out the sparks to ignite the powder keg that is "Famous".
If you've been in deep hibernation and haven't heard by now, Kanye West debuted his controversial music video for the hit song "Famous" on his newest album "The Life of Pablo" on the night of June 24. There has been an extreme uproar in the music industry and among his fans, haters, and fellow musicians on whether or not this is Kanye's greatest work of art, or a desperate reach for publicity.
The song itself has been talked about for it's line, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, why? I made that b**** famous" which caused preliminary tensions between Swift and Kanye to rise ("I'mma let you finish," – never forget). And to now feature Swift, along with other celebrities, in this cinematic experience is a bold move for West to make. Or is it?
Kanye's version (top), and Vincent Desiderio's original (bottom).
From left to right: George W. Bush, Anna Wintour, Donald Trump, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian West, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner, Bill Cosby.
Kanye took direct inspiration from a painting titled "Sleep" by Vincent Desiderio (2003-2008), an American realist painter. As found with some research, Desiderio originally had 13 figures displayed in his massive 8-foot tall, 24-foot wide piece, which would've echoed The Last Supper. With 12 figures instead, the eye is drawn to the middle two figures, creating an equal five figures on each side of the couple. The positioning of the figures could be taken as sleeping, unconscious, or even dead, though I find it hard to believe either of these pieces were made to be sexual in any way.
Though there is an occasional clothed figure in the original, West decided to completely expose all the characters in his work, leaving carefully draped sheets as their only solace for coverage only on the lower half. This in itself is important. If Kanye were to create a censored version of "Sleep," it would further hinder the desexualization of the naked body, most especially female breasts. Art is art, anatomy is anatomy, boobs are boobs, big deal.
There's some messages to take away from the imagery from both of these pieces. There seems to be some unspoken connection between sleep and slavery (in a way). A common phrase nowadays is to say someone was "sleeping" on someone or something, meaning, they weren't aware of a topic of interest. Once you're done "sleeping," then you become "woke," which is to say your eyes are open to the news you've learned now, and can see through the bull. Kanye's rendition of "Sleep" could be taken as exactly that. These are some of the world's most famous celebrities, and to see them all sleeping could symbolize the need for them to wake up and realize that they are all the same underneath the shackles of fame, fortune, and pressures from society to be an idol.
The positioning of characters, individually and within the dynamic of the whole piece, is crucial to the art, too. In Desiderio's art, the characters are merely people of everyday walks of life, whereas West had a major decision to make when choosing the locations of each celeb. The two that are most prominent to me are Rihanna and Chris Brown. Notice how in Desiderio's piece the man is on the left, the woman is on the right, and they are facing each other. In West's depiction, the two are switched so that they are facing away from one another, but still together, representing the time Brown and Rihanna spent together before it came crashing down with his abuse towards her. Another thing to note is that Kim and Kanye are not the center couple of his piece, he and Taylor are, though his back is turned towards her. This could be because he mentions her in the song and has had problems with her in the past, or just because he really likes to piss Taylor off.
Of course all the figures have importance in not only Kanye's life, but many people in our society. Two highly talked about political figures are featured, a fashion mogul, three music artists, a model, a transgender woman, and an alleged sexual assault criminal are surrounding Kim K and Yeezy, showing that even though they all have their issues with each other, they are still "laying in the same bed."
The glittery lids of Caitlyn Jenner...maybe.
The song plays in the background while the camera pans over the various glossy, unconscious forms, cutting to certain faces at certain words. The most confusing part of this whole video is who is real and who isn't? I believed they were all fake when I first saw the announcement, but upon religiously watching the video for an hour straight, I find myself more confused than I was in the beginning. He said the video took three months to make. Madame Tussauds takes approximately four months to make onefigure. With 12 being featured in this film, that means it should've taken four years for this project to be completed. While there is some clever use of lighting, VFX (for some eerie breathing movements and noises), and some *actual* wax figures, it's hard to believe that some of the shots don't actually feature a few of the celebrities. Kim already looks like a wax figure, so I don't doubt both she and Kanye were placed in the bed themselves, because we all know Kanye is a self-centered P.O.S. But this reaction to his video needing to find out who is real and who isn't adds to the ambiguity and art of his work. It helps bring light to the modern mythos of celebrities.
"It's a comment on fame," West told Vanity Fair before the premier. When questioned about celebrity endorsement, he stated, "It's not in support or anti- any of [the people in the video]."
Mr. and Mrs. West looking quite real here.
This video reminds me of works from the famous art YouTubers ShayeSaintJohn and the creators of Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. They were both art projects that confused, stupefied, and terrified many viewers. They were something that you either took or left, understood for what they were or didn't. Kanye has that same vibe to his whole character, but this video in particular showcased that you have to have a certain openness (and possible insanity) to receive the art for what it is to genuinely appreciate it.
Kanye has done something that hasn't been done since live performances by Marilyn Manson, or Madonna while singing "Like A Virgin;" he stepped so far out of the boundaries people don't even know how to react other than letting out the faintest gasp and a hand white-knuckling their pearls wound around their necks. Even as I'm writing I'm getting goosebumps; I cannot describe how infatuated I am with this video. I have such an immense respect for Kanye's art style, whether it be in his music, clothes, or visual art. Though many may highly disagree or not even understand why this is such a trending topic, I believe Kanye has begun a new frontier in music and truly brought to life the disturbing charms of video art.