Have you ever wondered or noticed how often TV and music imitate art? When you realize that a TV show or music video references a piece of art, how long does it take you to notice? With Pipilotti Rist’s “Ever is Over All,” it’s referenced by two of the most iconic women in pop culture history. Those two women are Beyoncé and Ellen DeGeneres. While Ellen has been under some hot water over the past couple of years, I thought it would be interesting to bring up the little skit she did regarding Beyoncé’s lemonade visual album. In the iconic theatrical version of the album, there is a reference to Rist’s art, where Beyoncé smashes car windows with an umbrella. The reason I bring up Ellen’s skit about it is mainly that it was funny. Cheesy but humorous. Beyoncé set the course for visual albums, in my opinion. There even was a time when I thought of making my own (I still do.) However, there was one more thing that it made me think of; if you remember the show “Victorious”, you will know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, there was an episode where the students were part of a reality show, “The Wood,” and there was a scene where the characters Tori and Jade started beating up this junk car has a bit, but they didn’t know that it wasn’t the car they were supposed to smash. Instead, they were smashing the car of the school’s food truck owner, Festus’, car. Another music video it reminded me of was Hot Chelle Rae’s video for their song “Honestly”; If I’m not mistaken, I believe the video had Ashley Benson in it, and there was a scene where she was keying the lead singer’s car. Sometimes in relationships, if something goes wrong, things will be smashed or destroyed. 

Now, if you are someone who has suffered a trauma, it can be OK to break things. I think the point of this art piece is that smashing things, while it may be cathartic, can put you on a path of doing it repeatedly until you find your proper happy place. While it might be the wrong thing to do, if you have suffered from trauma and there’s something you own that’s linked to the trauma, get rid of it! Smash it, donate it, do what you have to do to get rid of it, and start healing! Traumas are terrifying, and in many ways, they are similar to the grieving process. We become sad, we deny, we become angry, we deflect, and we do so many things when we go through trauma and when we grieve.

On a lighter note, I love how this piece loops. It reminds me of Vine or Dubsmash, but obviously before they became a thing. I also love the flowers; I’m not sure what type they are. I’m hoping the flowers, in the beginning, are tulips because those are one of my mom’s favorite flowers. I also feel like this is representative of happiness, but with deep-seated anger. However, it also reminds me of the feeling of relief that I get when I’m angry, but when I want to smash things, I turn to writing instead. No, if you remember my abstract art post from a few posts back, if you think about it, paint splatters can look like they’ve come from a place of anger and frustration, followed by relief and happiness that the brain block is over.

Speaking of my mother, I think I’m going to send this to her and ask her if this reminds her of anything. I may know what she’ll say, but my mother is quite an unpredictable yet predictable person. So, I do not know. I loved this piece, and I will keep this in mind next time I want to smash something. This was very reflective of the chaos that can go on in my brain when I’m angry. I picture myself smashing things in my head, and as cathartic as that may feel, it also makes me sad to think about. I don’t like the thought of smashing anything that I love, so I picture something that I absolutely hate that I want to smash. Overall, this is a very reflective piece and a very thoughtful one. 

Pipilotti Rist – Ever is Over All: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a56RPZ_cbdc