MAGNUMB | Marc Jacobs Heaven

AN ESSENTIAL OVERVIEW OF ARTHUR JAFA’S VIDEO PORTRAITS OF BLACK AMERICAN LIFE AND CULTURE, RELEASED TO COINCIDE WITH THE ARTIST’S MAGNUMB EXHIBITION AT LOUISIANA MUSEUM OF MODERN ART – THE LARGEST SHOW TO DATE OF HIS WORK. PRESENTING FILM STILLS FROM JAFA’S BEST-KNOWN WORKS SUCH AS 2016’S LOVE IS THE MESSAGE, THE MESSAGE IS DEATH AND ITS 2018 FOLLOW-UP PIECE THE WHITE ALBUM, THE BOOK ALSO FEATURES NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PROJECTS AND ESSAYS BY NOTABLE SCHOLARS. AFTER STARTING OUT AS A CINEMATOGRAPHER, WORKING WITH DIRECTORS INCLUDING STANLEY KUBRICK AND SPIKE LEE, JAFA BUILT AN ARTISTIC CAREER AROUND REPURPOSING FOUND IMAGES AND VIDEOS TO CREATE FILMS THAT EXAMINE BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE, THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY, AND THE ONGOING VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK AMERICANS. “I HAVE A VERY SIMPLE MANTRA AND IT’S THIS: I WANT TO MAKE BLACK CINEMA WITH THE POWER, BEAUTY, AND ALIENATION OF BLACK MUSIC,” HE SAID. IN MORE RECENT YEARS, HE HAS CREATED A SERIES OF VISUALLY STRIKING MUSIC VIDEOS FOR JAY-Z, SOLANGE KNOWLES AND KANYE WEST.