Despite the themes of the video, nothing was shot in New Orleans...The concept and quick turnaround required Tobman and the rest of the crew to convert [the Fenyes Mansion in Pasadena into a] fitting Southern Gothic set...A Beaux Arts mansion commissioned by and built for Dr. Adalbert Fenyes and his wife Eva Scott Muse Fenyes in 1905, there was nothing really Southern about architect Robert D. Farquhar's design — Curbed
If you're still bumpin' the Queen Bey's latest hard-hitting single, get a glimpse of the history behind the Fenyes Mansion in Pasadena, where parts of the song's impressive music video were filmed.
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13 Comments
I'm not a fan of Beyoncé, and I'm not sure that I would use "bumpin'" to describe the video (perhaps I'm just old and out of touch).
But it was not the architecture that made the video, it was the attention to the complex range of costumes and identity over time. This was not an imaging of place, but of a cultural landscape.
@Marc I would agree it is more Art than "bumpin" or necessarily "hard-hitting" (unless perhaps politically in it's Blackness). In terms of identity, there were definitely lots of Signifiers. References to Jackson Five nostrils, hot sauce, Katrina etc... Nevertheless or because of it all, she "Slay".
Trying to figure out exactly what this has to do with anything. Over-hyped pop culture and starchitecture? Commerce masquerading (poorly) as art?
Disagree- this is a tableau representing the evolution of place, identity and gender politics for african american women in the south. Yes, some of the images are a little mythical, but the the depictions are signifiers of agency.
She slays, she represents.
"Trying to figure out exactly what this has to do with anything."
You are so unbelievably detached from American culture.
Thank you! A large portion of American culture is absolute shit. Something like 90%, although some have suggested that the percentage is considerably higher.
You really shouldn't get worked up about it, it's not like I'm trying to deny your happy meal. But you just might want to remember that you are what you eat.
Yes, I am. With pride.
Marc - sorry, I was responding to davvid's comment. No slight intended to you. I'm sure our 90 percents have considerable overlap.
Gotcha
Miles, American Architecture culture is even more detached from popular culture than Opera. Most people don't even understand what architects do. Its an out of touch profession dominated by older, white men. And not surprisingly, American Architecture isn't very good. But the American music scene is extremely vibrant and diverse. Americans and people around the world know who Beyonce is, and like it or not, its because she's fucking good. And if you don't like Beyonce, there is so much other great music and musical performance being produced in America to choose from. So don't continue to drive the lazy anti-pop wedge that only serves to distance architecture from the American public.
davvid, you like Beyoncé (she's fucking good). Good for you. For me she's part of the 98%. That's the thing about taste and aesthetics, they are influenced by many things including your own experience. I'd say that as much as many mature people may tend to reject some pop culture because they see it as shallow (among other things), many young people embrace it just because it is new or seems different. I look at that largely as a reflection of the lack of experience. This can be seen in every aspect of hypermarketed culture from iPhones to cars, fashion and buildings.
As far as music goes, I enjoy Pomplamoose, Hazmat Modine, Jolie Holland, That One Guy, Trombone Shorty, etc. among others. None of them have ever won a Grammy, or likely ever will.
Miles, There used to be a time when an artist could explain away their lack of commercial success by claiming to be "undiscovered". But the internet has changed that.
Its interesting that you describe Beyonce as "different". I would say that she is solidly mainstream. I would describe some of the performers you've listed as being willfully "different"/artsy-idiosyncratic . Like That One Guy, for example, who plays Prog Jazz on homemade instruments and I'm pretty sure was the inspiration for the Starburns character on Community.
I think Beyoncé's following is much older that what you are assuming...
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