As folks try to dissect the mind of Kanye West, it makes you wonder if the veteran rapper takes pleasure in the hoopla that he causes?
From his rant and rave antics which causes his audience to question his behavior, to the 'Bound 2' video most people still can't figure out, and with the latest headlines of Kanye
gifting his beloved Kim an expensive Hermes Birkin bag, hand-painted by world renowned artist George Condo, which displays 3 nude women and 1 male creature adorning the front of the forty thousand dollar leather product; it makes you wonder if Mr. West, is trying to make a point?
Instead of "life" happening to the Chicago native wherein art is created as a result, is Kanye trying to make "art" happen to life?
We live everyday as a result of what life has in store for us, and somethings you couldn't plan if you wanted to. But what if you did plot, plan, and use strategy, with the ending result being an execution through works of art transformed into real life? Using the power of the mind to create, in order to elicit a reaction.
It reminds me of Greek tragedies and how a play, film, TV program, or other narrative work, can portray or depict catastrophic events while having an unhappy but meaningful ending. For example: In ancient Greek culture, says philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, "there is a conflict between the plastic arts, namely the Apollonian, and non-plastic art of music, the Dionysian."
"[...] These two instincts are so different they walk side by side, mostly in open conflict, stimolandosi each other to new and more stalwart reactions to perpetuate itself incessantly in the struggle of that conflict." ~The Birth of Tragedy
And if you look at KimYe in the sense of Apollonian and Dionysian, West's actions begin to make perfect sense. He of course is Apollo; one who suggests reason and the power of the mind, while Kim is Dionysus; one who suggests emotion, sensuality and chaotic action. Furthermore, the 'Bound 2' video makes even more sense as Kanye, used power of the mind to create the art form while Kim, added the features of sensuality and emotion.
The original 'Bound' song spoke of taking notice of a female and falling in love with her. However, Yeezus' rendition of the song doesn't give you the "falling in love" feeling but instead insinuates plural sex, the fact that he's a "pimp" as he uses Jeromey Rome's name (who as a character is a pimp), all while telling his bride-to-be what position he wanted her in during sex and the special "spunk" drink he planned to give her afterwards -- which Kim seemed to agree with as she "play wiped" her mouth in the video.
Dionysian is defined as: dissolved individuality, dissolution of all boundaries, excess, human being(s) as the work of art, destruction and non-logical. Would you say this is an accurate description of the reality star?
And that Hermes Birkin hand-painted bag! The art form itself depicts a foursome, as the 'Bound 2' song also suggests multiple sex partners. Dionysian also represents wine drinking and unconstrained sex; did you notice the glass of wine in the painting?
Regarding the 'Bound 2' video Kanye explains, "I wanted to take white trash t-shirts and make it into a video. Yes. I wanted it to look as phony as possible. I wanted the clouds to go in one direction, the mountains to go in another, the horses to go over there, I wanted to show that this is the "Hunger Games" this is the type of imagery that's being presented to all of us, the only difference is there's a black dude in the middle of it."
We can argue with Kanye about what he meant when he used the term "white trash", we can ask him why he wanted the imagery to look fake and/or phony since he claims that's what Americans watch on TV, and we can even ask why his video represents the "Hunger Games" aka "every man for themselves"; but as you read this I'm sure you can begin to connect the dots.
"Art" happening to "life" makes more sense now doesn't it?
2013 LA