Jay Z premiered the performance art film for single “Picasso Baby” yesterday, which director Mark Romaneck considers to have set the bar high for music videos.
"Concerts are pretty much performance art, but the venues change," Romaneck said of the concept for the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter . "Just by nature the performances change. You're in a smaller venue, it’s a bit more intimate, so you get to feel the energy of the people."
Romaneck and rapper Jay Z felt the energy of onlookers at the Pace Gallery while the Magna Carta Holy Grail artist rapped live for six hours. Despite reports of the contrary, Jay Z did not lip-synch, a decision that Romaneck feels was crucial to the authenticity of the video as a piece of performance art.
“The finished piece was always intended to be live vocals,” the director explained. “I mean, that was the whole point of it. Otherwise, it would turn into a music video."
In fact, the director said he “rejects” the phrase “music video” for the project, saying that he and the rapper wanted to approach the song from a new perspective, setting out to produce something that was “more genuine, more spontaneous, and more alive.”
The Huffington Post reports that
Romaneck capitalized on the organic interaction between Jay Z and the 250 attendees of the spectacle, leaving in unscripted moments in which the “Picasso Baby” rapper spoke to fans.
“He stopped singing at times and just talked to people, he kissed people,” Romaneck said. “What you'll see is that it's like a tsunami of joyfulness. It's sort of the opposite of the tough-guy street-rapper cliché. Everyone is having such a good time and none of it is feigned. There's not a single fake moment in it.”
Check out the 10-minute “Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film” below:
Image: Instagram