Music videos are signs of their times, integral parts of their contemporary culture, available worldwide, produced worldwide – a nucleus of the global entertainment industry. In this brilliant book, musical world culture meets an icon of German industrial culture. The catalog accompanying the major exhibition at the Völklinger Hütte World Cultural Heritage Site is devoted to the history and present of music videos. In the numerous text contributions, musical, artistic and filmic quality are illuminated as well as current topics: AI, climate change, political, psychological and physical violence, and gender issues of all kinds. The examples span from early forms of short music film to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody from 1975 to empowerment scenes of the 2020s by Lady Gaga, Beyoncé or The Carters. The result is a global panorama of the genre and the art form of the music video that has never been realized in this form before.

The book brings together around 90 music videos from more than 30 countries. Among the musicians, artists and directors involved are: Laurie Anderson, Roger Ballen, Joseph Beuys, Björk, Childish Gambino, Chris Cunningham, Daft Punk, Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, Pussy Riot, Rammstein, Andy Warhol, Zoot Woman and many more.

Text by: Danielle Hodgson, Daniel Bauer
Designed by: KOMA AMOK