Here and Now

An exploration of the visual language of R&B/Adult Contemporary music
videos from 1988-1994 via the lens of cinematic classification and Jungian symbolism.
Using a wall-sized touch screen interface in an installation environment, a user can
sort/experience music video clips by the artists Luther Vandross, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmunds,
New Edition, Cameo and MC Hammer based on their classification and similarities in a variety
of categories ranging from the cinematic (mise-en-scéne, choreography, shot type) to the
conscious or unconscious use of Carl Jung’s archetypes in the narrative of the videos.
Multiple videos are initially presented in a grid. In this format, the viewer can watch all of the
videos simultaneously. When the user selects a video, the view switches to either a Conscious
or Unconscious representation. The Conscious representation is a grid of looped video clips
containing similar examples of crafted decisions by the film/video makers, such as framing,
choreography and mise-en-scéne. Again, the viewer can watch the videos simultaneously,
allowing the viewer to make his/her own comparisons/analysis.
In the Unconscious representation, the video clips are classified by their use of Jungian
character archetypes and are shown superimposed over each other, allowing the user to
perhaps make connections between the videos that they might not have been able to deduce in
a grid pattern.