Original artwork from A-Ha's 'Take on Me'. Music video by Steve Barron, featured in Spectacle: The Music Video Exhibition
Original artwork from A-Ha's 'Take on Me'. Music video by Steve Barron, featured in Spectacle: The Music Video Exhibition

Spectacle: The Music Video Exhibition

Exhibition

This event has ended and tickets are no longer available.

When

25 Sep 2013 – 23 Feb 2014

A groundbreaking exploration of music video as a contemporary art form, Spectacle: The Music Video Exhibition is experienced through a dynamic fusion of interactive installations, projections, videos and immersive environments, including recreated sets and original objects never before seen outside of the videos themselves.

The music videos featured in Spectacle  span the experimental and the extravagant, the political and the provocative, as well as epic productions which cross the boundary into short film, demonstrating that creative ingenuity is the key to creating a perfect marriage of sound and vision.

With over 300 clips spanning nine decades, Spectacle  follows how the art of the music video has progressed, from clips of 1920s jazz legends through to videos by Madonna, Lady Gaga and other contemporary artists.

Powerful imagery and music surround you as you journey through a labyrinth of interactive installations, sets, immersive environments, original props and costumes.

Spectacle  features the handiwork of some of today's most innovative filmmakers, including Michel Gondry who directed videos for The Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, Spike Jonze (Björk, Fatboy Slim) and Mark Romanek (Lenny Kravitz, Jay Z). Key Australian music videos also contribute to the story with clips from a variety of home grown talent, including Temper Trap, Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue.

Videos featured in the show range from the experimental and arthouse to the political and the provocative and include epic productions which cross the boundary into short film. All of them demonstrate that ingenuity is the key to creating the perfect marriage of sound and vision.

Spectacle: The Music Video Exhibition  is organised by the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati. Curators: Jonathan Wells and Meg Grey Wells, Flux.

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