Montréal, July 5, 2006. They have grown up with MTV, and are recognized as auteurs. Just when everything seemed to have already been said and done in the world of video clips, they emerged to redefine the music video. Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Chris Cunningham, Louis-Philippe Eno and company are coming to the Musée! From July 12 to October 1, 2006, the Musée d’art contemporain presents Music Video, a program of 26 video clips offered as part of its Projections series.
The schedule comprises a selection of the best music videos made in the past twenty years, by the four artists just mentioned as well as Godley & Creme, Steve Barron, Stephen R. Johnson, Mark Romanek, Jonathan Glazer, Martin de Thurah, Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël in collaboration with Thien Vu Dang, and more. An exception is made for one earlier work: Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen, directed by Bruce Gowers in 1975 and considered the “first real video clip,” namely a short video film using special effects and made to promote a song and, ideally, turn it into a hit!
But the program really focuses on the last twenty years. “These directors are remarkably clever and inventive in their concepts and images, camera work and special effects. Making music videos seems almost a game for them, and has certainly been a springboard to feature films,” explains Louise Ismert, who is in charge of multimedia events at the museum. She screened decades’ worth of music videos in order to offer us an hour and a half of unbridled imagination, and of a new art form. Working between music and film, television and advertising, music video directors have come up with new ways of making films, and expanded the visual arts field as a whole.
In embarking on the presentation of Music Video, the museum wishes to illustrate the creative energy displayed in the music video sector, spotlight these most inventive artists and showcase their works in a contemporary art context.
The Musée d’art contemporain is located at 185 Sainte-Catherine Street West, Place-des-Arts metro. Summer hours: Monday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission: Adults: $8; Seniors: $6; Students: $4; Families: $16. Free admission for children under 12 and members of the Fondation du Musée. Free admission for all on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. Information: (514) 847-6226. Website: www.macm.org.
The Musée d'art contemporain is a provincially owned corporation funded by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec. It receives additional funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts.
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Source and information:
Danielle Legentil
Media Relations Officer
Tel.: (514) 847-6232
E-mail: danielle.legentil@macm.org
Music Video Program
1975 Bruce Gowers, Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen (5 min 56 s)
1983 Godley & Creme[i], Rockit, Herbie Hancock (3 min 22 s)
1984 Zbigniew Rybczynski, Close to the Edit, Art of Noise (4 min 16 s)
1984 Zbigniew Rybczynski, All That I Wanted, Belfegore (4 min 16 s)
1984 Jean Baptiste Mondino, Boys of Summer, Don Henley (4 min 46 s)
1985 Steve Barron, Take On Me, a-ha (3 min 40 s)
1986 Stephen R. Johnson, Sledgehammer, Peter Gabriel (4 min 59 s)
1986 Zbigniew Rybczynski, Imagine, John Lennon (3 min 15 s)
1991 Stéphane Sednaoui, Give It Away, Red Hot Chili Peppers (4 min 31 s)
1995 Mark Romanek, Bedtime Story, Madonna (4 min 24 s)
1996 Jonathan Glazer, Street Spirit, Radiohead (4 min 18 s)
1997 Chris Cunningham, Only You, Portishead (4 min 17 s)
1998 Chris Cunningham, All Is Full of Love, Björk (4 min 05 s)
2001 Spike Jonze, Weapon of Choice, Fatboy Slim (3 min 45 s)
2002 Pascal Grandmaison, Les yeux tout autour de la tête, Jérôme Minière (4 min 38 s)
2002 Michel Gondry, Fell in Love with a Girl, The White Stripes (1 min 55 s)
2002 Michel Gondry, Come to My World, Kylie Minogue (4 min 13 s)
2003 Alex & Martin[ii], Seven Nation Army, The White Stripes (3 min 53 s)
2003 Floria Sigismondi, In My Secret Life, Leonard Cohen (4 min 06 s)
2004 Maxime Giroux, Overrated, Pilate (3 min 16 s)
2004 Jonas Odell, Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand (3 min 58 s)
2005 Félix et Paul[iii], Les Humains, Akido (3 min 45 s)
2005 Micah Meisner, Devil’s Eyes, Buck 65 (3 min 49 s)
2005 Joshua Deu, Laika, Arcade Fire (3 min 30 s)
2005 Martin de Thurah, What Else Is There? Röyksopp (3 min 31 s)
2006 Louis-Philippe Eno, Montréal -40°C, Malajube (3 min 17 s)
