405

September 14, 2010

NIN: The Making of the ‘Closer’ Video (via Fette)

28 minute behind-the-scenes with commentary by director Mark Romanek.

‘Closer’ was a great example of Picasso’s (alleged) dictum that “good artists borrow, great artists steal”, since almost every visual in it was lifted from other artists, including Joel-Peter Witkin, Man Ray, The Brothers Quay, and Francis Bacon.

But it was put together with such craft that it achieved its own mash-up originality and was clearly a respectful homage.

And for those of us at the time whose art education came from television, movies, and books, not from art schools, it was a fantastically dense puzzle to decipher (although credits would have been nice)

Also: I can’t believe it’s 15 years old.

[mark romanek’s videos have always been a hit with me because of how visceral they can be with their imagery. at the points in life growing up, seeing, for instance, the sheer slick sexuality of envogue’s FREE YOUR MIND or, as seen above, the brutal beauty and aesthetic of nine inch nails’s CLOSER, what i’ve seen, with the music as accompaniment, has repeatedly kicked me in the brains. even now.

seek out the directors collection volume featuring mark romanek’s music videos.

romanek’s new film NEVER LET ME GO opens wednesday in los angeles.]

1:45pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZLraZy12vtux

(Notes: 36)

Filed under: music