(Lai Seng Sin / AP)
I love
Erykah’s “Orange Moon.” I love “Green Eyes,” I love “Back In The Day,” I love her music. And as incensed as I am by this latest story involving her and her sister, I still love Erykah.
I remember when, two years ago, she got all naked before us with “Window Seat.” Badu called it art. Other people called it art. She was ultimately fined for it – artists to varying degrees, when they do something ‘unorthodox’- incur some sort of penalty, I understand, whether it is criticism, isolation, monetary fines, imprisonment or worse.
‘Seat’ was far from my favorite, but Badu was the artist. Disrobing anywhere outside of an art studio isn’t my idea of respectable, but she was the artist. Noise about the video ebbed and was all but a memory until news that a Flaming Lips video featuring the sisters (Badu’s sister mostly) - glittery, nude and covered in what appeared to be bodily fluids - went viral.
The video’s director
Wayne Coyne leaked the video earlier this week. The Flaming Lips, no stranger to provocative music videos (to say the least), quickly responded to the Tweet saying it had been unedited and unapproved. And in an early tweet from Badu – after digitally shaking her head at the video – she asks her followers for reaction:
Official Flaming Lips Vid discussion. How does it make u feel? Astetically (sic), What does it make u fear?Anger?Joy?Freedom?Disgust? Discuss.
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) June 4, 2012
Yesterday on Twitter, Coyne said the video was not about Badu, and it was The Flaming Lips’ responsibility. He said he was sorry if anyone was offended.
That afternoon, Badu went on to post a lengthy response that included:
“perhaps, next time u get an occasion to work with an artist who respects your mind art, you should send at least a ROUGh version of the video u PLAN to release b4 u manipulate or compromise the artist’s brand by desperately releasing a poor excuse for shock and nudity that sends a convoluted message that passes as art( to some).
Even with Window Seat there was a method and thought process involved. I have not one need for publicity . I just love artistic dialogue . And just because an image is shocking does not make it art.
You obviously have a misconception of who I am artistically. I don’t mind that but...”
“Consequently, brother, As a human I am disgusted with your what appears to be desperation and poor execution. And disregard for others . As a director I am unimpressed . As a sociologist I understand your type. As your fellow artist I am uninspired. As a woman I feel violated and underestimated.”
She told Coyne he could kiss her and her sister’s rear end. Gladly, he replied.
I take notes to get my thoughts in order.
…About the lives of girls and women whose privacy and sense of security has been violated by sexual assault and hidden cameras, text messages unknowingly spread around like wildfire and photos posted on the Internet.
…About the fight of women for equal rights and equal standing that continues…
…About the history of exploitation of black women, the stereotyping of them and their objectification in entertainment media.
…About art.
About the value and purpose and definition of art in a culture so constantly permeated by commercialized commissions of it that “art” is now a brief talking point and its symbolism, for negative or positive, is fleeting yet still powerful enough to influence the communities that have consumed it – especially those members who have few opposing images and experiences against which to compare these pieces.
There isn’t a minute in this digital age when we aren’t reminded that our image is less and less our own, and when we serve it up on a platter for others’ use, we relinquish that control. Badu seems to have realized this.
When people misuse us in reality or in cyberspace, there are actions that can be taken.
But what value do these things hold when, as a celebrity to many, an artist knowingly puts herself into a situation that could be manipulated into something even more crass and degrading than what was agreed to?
As I write this, I learn that Badu retweeted her outraged reaction to the release of the video which, while taken down from some publication sites hasn’t been from others.
Part of the onus of this catastrophe is on Coyne, for his misuse of the footage Badu and her sister were present for and for not showing it to her before leaking it, as she says in her letter. Judging by how events have unfolded, one could easily say the director had no respect for Badu and her sister while the video was shot or after.
Coyne, who has directed numerous videos that are easy to call X-rated when taken out of the context of art, felt completely fine not only making the video but doing so in such a way that took advantage of Badu’s supposed naiveté and complicity.
“You begged me to sit in a tub of that other sh(expletive) and I said naw. I refused to sit in any liquid that was not water. But Out of RESPECT for you and the artist you ‘appear’ to be, I Didn’t wanna kill your concept,” Badu says in her letter.And thus part of the onus is on Badu. More broadly speaking, it is a burden upon on all of us of every race, gender, sex, etc. to be conscious of the images we support, display, participate in and celebrate, and to consider the present and future we are contributing to by doing so.
I hope it is one in which little girls can grow up and find positive and encouraging images of themselves so plentiful they dilute the negative images perpetuated in popular culture that have encouraged the mistreatment and marginalization of women around the globe.
Because of their celebrity, both Badu and Coyne had the power to make something positive come out of this situation, by averting it altogether or reactively diffusing it. But now we are on the other side of this ordeal where what’s done is done.
Seeing this story further unfold today really broke my heart. This was disappointing on many sides, but my love for Erykah and her creative mind doesn’t change.
