‘The Art of Pop Video’ exhibition at FACT
by SARAH O’HARA
looprevilpress@live.co.uk
The year was 1981. Employees from a then unknown company called MTV could not have dreamed of the impact that their Music Television channel would have on popular culture. More than 30 years later, we now live in a world inundated with music channels, some solely for specific genres of music. However, with the launch of video platforms such as YouTube, consumers can now access a plethora of music videos to suit their needs whenever they wish. I took a trip to ‘The Art of Pop Video’ exhibition at FACT, to explore some of the most significant music videos in popular music history.
Music videos were an integral part of my upbringing. As a child I could regularly be found gazing at numerous ‘Queen’ videos, so it was a pleasure to see the inclusion of their infamous ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ within the exhibition. Donning headphones I looked up at the screen and transgressed into memories long forgotten. Each video in the exhibition was played on screen (aside from a couple playing in a loop on larger screens), which allowed for individual enjoyment of each video. It also meant that I didn’t miss any videos in the exhibition, and could peruse them at my own leisure – a perfect way to spend a couple of hours.
‘The Art of Pop Video’ is a well-researched and excellent exhibition. Separated into areas, I was able to instantly switch from established ‘promo’ videos (e.g. – Pet Shop Boy’s ‘Go West’ and The Buggles’ ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’), to social commentary (Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’). Other areas debated the inclusion of dance in videos such as Daft Punk’s ‘Around the World’ (one of my particular favourites), and the link between music, film and art. FACT and the exhibition’s curators, Michael P. Aust and Georg Elben should be commended for their detailed, intelligent and delightful curation of ‘The Art of Pop Video’.
I highly recommend this exhibition to all. Whether you are an academic interested in media forms, or if you just like the occasional music video, this is a must see exhibition. Everyone has their own opinions about what music videos are the most important, but ‘The Art of Pop Video’ has certainly delivered a wide variety of videos to consider and enjoy. Long live the music video!
Looprevil Press 