POWER

     Art is any creation that sparks up any form of emotion.  It does not have to be beautiful but it can be something that makes you angry or even confused.  If it is capable to make you stop for a moment and absorb its message, I consider it to be art.  Whether it is tangible like a sculpture or not tangible such as a dance, it has to show the artist’s emotions through the creation.  I should feel the same way the artist felt when creating it; feel the anger he or she felt or the joy they experienced. 

     Something that I found to be artistic is Kanye West’s video for his song “Power”.  It begins with showing Kanye West staring in a sinister way wearing a big gold chain around his neck.  The camera is slowly moving back and other characters emerge.  The characters move as the full image is revealed. Surrounding him are two women on either side of him with huge horns on their heads, while two men and a woman on the upper left are trying to attack him with a knife and swords.  There is also a woman with big wings sitting in front of him with a sensual look on her face. The characters above him are upside down.   Behind him there is a sky with clouds and a light shining above him. There is a halo above Kanye’s head and there is some kind of sword going through the halo.  He is somewhat behind all of the characters and some of them are trying to reach him; for example the woman with a sheet over her is stretching in his direction and the two girls below him are crawling in his direction.

     The very first time I saw this image I was unsettled.  It seemed demonic to me and it left me with an uncomfortable feeling.  The look on the character’s faces creeped me out; especially the women with horns on their head.  When I eventually evaluated it I realized that it portrayed a lot of interesting things.  The use of colors sent a mysterious message and it was quite intriguing to me.  I got a seductive message from it also because the women were barely wearing any clothes and on the bottom right there are two naked women holding each other romantically. 

     I consider this to be art because it sends a message and it grabs the audience’s attention instantly.  It shows things that he is experiencing for example seduction, hatred and glory.  You see that some of the characters are either seductive or are trying to harm him and he is shown to be in a high position because he is in a chain and halo is above his head.  The colors and the way the characters are portrayed is captivating. The song is called power and you can feel that he has exactly that in the video even though he is just standing there not doing anything in particular. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L53gjP-TtGE&ob=av2e