“APES**T” and The Importance of Black Artistry

 

 

Initial Thoughts

 

While Jay Z and Beyonce’s “APES**t” used to be what I considered one of my “hype” songs, pumping me up for a long work day or an important presentation, I failed to grasp, if not fully honor the racial themes wondrously dispensed into the piece by the famed duo. By selecting APES**T for my week 5 module blog post, I seek to finally honor the true context of the piece, highlighting the resounding message embedded within.

 

APESH**T

0:00-0:15

A black individual with angel wings squats outside a dimly lit Louvre in the middle of Paris. The pose of the individual most resembles that of a gargoyle, who in antiquity would generally guard the façade of important buildings, most commonly found in London and Paris. Are Jay Z and Beyonce trying to highlight the fact that black individuals, much like the stagnant gargoyles, are historically significant in upholding the artistic world? Could this individual also represent the fact that the black community are still on the outside of the artistic world, much like the gargoyle stands outside the gates of a museum?

0:15-0:30

The video now enters the famed Louvre, and runs through a gamut of artistic pieces that portray white bodies. Jay Z and Beyonce might be making an initial statement about the racial (white) makeup of high-end artwork.

0:30-1:00

The music video now turns to the room of the Louvre that houses the Mona Lisa. Standing strategically in front of the painting are Jay Z and Beyonce, dressed to the nines in vibrant/elegant attire. Given that the famed individuals are standing in front of the Mona Lisa, the statement is clear. In order to fully appreciate the Mona Lisa, you must first learn to appreciate the black artists who also stand in full view, ready for their much-deserved appreciation. The vibrancy of the attire worn by Jay Z and Beyonce also seeks to show an appreciation for African American fashion, which utilizes vibrant colors to create an elegant juxtaposition between darker skin. Jay Z and Beyonce, themselves famed black artists, seek to embody all that black artistry has to offer, while standing in front of a contrastingly pale and bland looking Mona Lisa.

1:00-1:25

The video now moves to one of the staircases featured in the Louvre, where African American performing artists lie dormant on the steps, before synchronously rising and initiating their non-vocalized performance. Artistically speaking, the performers are representing the death, or omission of, Black art while lying on the steps. As they slowly rise, they bring their artistry to life in the form of performance.

1:25-1:40

Beyonce kneels in front of a headless Greco-Roman statue. However, while the head of the statue is missing, Beyonce cunningly only reveals her head, shrouding the rest of her body in a cloak that matches the color of the statue’s marble. Here we can see Beyonce attempting to portray herself as the missing headpiece to the statue. As a black woman, Beyonce is not only stealing the glory of what we presume to be “white-art”, but even going as far to suggest that the marble statues once represented individuals of color living in the Mediterranean Region, and that marble should not be seen as indicative of Caucasian status or ethnicity.

1:45-1:50

Performing artists are dancing in front of an elongated painting depicting an important gathering of white individuals, most plausibly linked to Christianity. A key feature to Jay Z and Beyonce’s piece is the utilization of performing art, which contradicts and seeks to contrast with the stagnant paintings that serve as a backdrop in the video. In this sense, black performance artists are literally “stealing the show” from the white painters featured throughout the Louvre.

1:55-2:15

Beyonce and Jay Z are now dressed up as Egyptians while standing in front of a Sphynx. Interestingly enough, Ancient Egypt, along with other Mediterranean/Mesopotamian cultures, were made up of dark-skinned individuals, though history often likes to hide the fact. Beyonce and Jay Z remind the viewer that much of the art and culture featured in high end museums and galleries were in fact, crafted by the hands of black or bi-racial artists.

2:15-2:50

The music momentarily fades as do the black performing artists, who silently pose in front of the museum’s artwork. Maybe this is to say that if one component of black culture fades away (like the music in this momentary pause), so will the other components of black culture/artistry. During this pause, we are shown various close up images of some of the art displayed at the museum. This pause could also be a directive to reflect upon some of the earlier scenes of the music video.

2:50-3:05

The video once again incorporates music after the earlier pause, with the performers now up and moving using similar motions from earlier in the piece.

3:05-4:15

Jay Z is now front and center, initiating his verses outside The Louvre, before the audience is shown images of more artwork. However, unlike in previous frames, the artwork depicted while Jay Z raps, is full of darker colors, and the lighting itself is dimmed for this part. This almost seems to shift the video from a theme of “omitting color in high end art” to “the presence of color in high end art”. Many of the works of art may in fact depict black individuals. Very interesting shift here.

4:15-5:00

Beyonce chimes in for her solo, and while many of the scenes are analogous to those found during Jay Z’s solo, there are a few key differences. Beyonce’s part include black individuals giving black power solutes in a “gritty” setting that contrasts the museum. I get a sense that the video is turning away from emphasizing “black creations” and turning towards “black contributions”. These contributions are made in a variety of settings, but as the music video seems to portray, not in a museum, interestingly enough.

5:00-5:50

As the music video fades, the audience is once more taken through an array of black performing artists, paintings and general scenes found within The Louvre.

5:50-6:05

Like a well written conclusion in an essay, the video also seeks to wrap up with a crescendo ending. Beyonce and Jay Z are once more staring outwardly in front of The Mona Lisa. However, unlike at minute 0:30, Beyonce and Jay Z turn to one another, before acquiescing to the idea of turning around and viewing The Mona Lisa. The music video is almost crying out here, as it leaves us with one powerful, residual message. We cannot fully appreciate the works of white artists, until we elevate black artists onto the same plane of existence, and into high end museums/galleries. On a deeper level, Jay Z and Beyonce ARE in fact representative of these black artists. In order for me to even think about The Mona Lisa at the 6-minute mark, I must first watch and comprehend an entire piece of black artwork beforehand. It’s a beautiful message, and all too true.

Conclusion

While “APES**T” is certainly a great track to enjoy for Its music alone, much like the message embedded in the video, I cannot fully appreciate the track without keeping in mind the context of its message. With this in mind, I plan to be more mindful regarding the relative ease in misappropriating powerful work. Going forward, I plan to fully appreciate this track in its correct context, as opposed to dampening an important message out of misguided appreciation.

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