Provide the name of the practitioner, the title of the work, the date when it was made, and a link to the work.Â
“The long-awaited and fabulous Fantastic Women💥” by Louisiana Museum of Modern Art – Published by @louisianamuseum on 21st July, 2020.
Provide some context on the visual content by summarising the content, the context of publication, and the audience it targets.Â
The video comprises of black and white photographs of famous women artists, e.g. Louise Bourgeois, Frida Kahlo, and pictures of each of their renowned artwork. The photos of the artists and their work are backed by an upbeat tempo ‘exotic’ music, and empowering texts describing the characteristics of these artists. The context of the publication was to showcase the women artists who had an influential impact on surrealism, a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art. This is to promote their new exhibit at their art gallery in Denmark, displaying the artwork of 34 women surrealist artists from Europe, the US, and Mexico. While the post can target any audience, if it had to have a specific target audience, then I would say this post is majorly catered for women; women empowerment.
How was the visual content made technically?Â
The video seems to be only containing still images, music, and text; no filmed videos. The images included real-life photographs of some of the artists and a coloured picture of their artwork. The photos change/cut to other artists and their artwork following the beat of the drums of the upbeat chaotic music track. The image of their artwork is layered over the photos of the artists. I also notice that in relation to the beat of the drums, they zoom/crop closer to the image of the artists, producing movement to the photo. This reminds me of a YouTube video by Peter Lindgren (1 minute 17 seconds mark) explaining how creating the illusion that there are more camera angles than it actually has, helps to make images or a stationary video seem more interesting. Furthermore, the use of text towards the end of the video were all oriented in the middle of the screen. They also bolded the text and presented it in white, to make it pop-off the black and white photos, as well as to emphasise that the texts characterising these women were an essential message.Â
How does this piece of visual content fit into the art galleries media and communication strategies? What is it trying to achieve?Â
The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is located in Denmark and houses a vast range of modern and contemporary art. Louisiana’s communication strategy is about conveying the message of promoting the diverse forms of art and celebrating culture.
The visual piece fits with Louisiana’s media and communication strategy by acknowledging and celebrating the work of the women that have contributed to art. The exhibit featuring 34 women artists across Europe, the US and Mexico showcase that Louisiana is an internationally-known museum featuring works from artists all over the world. Furthermore, their choice of music used in the video helps to describe the vibe of their location; located at an old park away from the city with magnificent views of green and sea. This could convey the location being ‘exotic; different vibe than what is seen in the city.
The piece fits with Lousiana’s strategy of furthering their brand awareness as accepting and celebrating not just men but women artists across the world. It is not news that art made by men are more celebrated than art made by women. Louisiana’s development of creating a pedestal for artworks made by women to be displayed internationally shapes Louisiana as a supporter for women artists. Louisiana’s analytics for Instagram states that their followers consists of 75.5% women followers and 24.5% male followers. Because of their large following, they are aiming to promote their brand globally to attract more international audiences to visit their gallery in Denmark.
Why did you choose this particular work?
I chose this particular work because of how short (in length) but effective the video was. The cover image of the video caught my attention as it was a painting of Leonor Fini’s “Woman seated on a naked man”. Even before finding out about the painting, it caught my eye because of the arrangement and hierarchy the woman was presented in. The fact that the woman is presented as a dominant figure over the sleeping and vulnerable naked man displays the empowerment of women.
The music track also scared me at first, due to its loud and chaotic beat and rhythm. The fact that it was so loud and chaotic made me not click away from the video as I was engaged as to what it was all about. It was a combination of the music, images, and text that made this piece a literal “WOW factor” that made me feel something during and after watching the video. The piece made me feel proud to witness how far the development of art has come to (more women artists are being noticed ) and the feeling of being able to be a part of the change, even if I am just an audience.
What do you find inspiring about the content and form?Â
What I found inspiring about this piece was how they created such an eye-catching post with only the use of images, text and music. Many of the pieces I’ve seen involved moving videos, B-rolls, etc. But Louisiana incorporating just photos is what sets Louisiana’s video apart from the rest. The simple yet effective use of the still images inspired me to have the mentality that nothing, even a limitation will let you stop yourself from producing something creative. It also showed me how crucial using text could be if done right. Although it was one-worded texts, it spoke a lot to me as to how influential those women were in their time and the impact that had left for many future generations.
The overall production of the content made me feel patriotic in a way, and I was engaged with the content from start to finish as they made me feel proud to see that women are being acknowledged more, both in the art world and as a whole.
References
Peter Lindgren 2019, Editing Tips & Tricks For BETTER VIDEOS In Final Cut Pro X, YouTube, 23 November, viewed 27 August 2020,