Doc A Day #5 :Jay-Z : Picasso Baby 2013

Alright, this is a bit of a cheat. The write up may be longer than the "doc", but hey, HBO is including this with their fine Summer of Docs section so why not. Is it art? what is art? Can music....nevermind. Look, as ambitious and thought out as it may be, its a glorified music video/promo piece for Jay-Z. And you know what? That's perfectly ok. Just call it a video and be done with it. In July Jay-Z took over the Pace Gallery in New York and performed his song,Picasso Baby, over and over again for individuals who packed the gallery. Some "performed" along with him, some watched, others just giggled and took what I assume will be pictures that flooded their Facebook page for the next month. Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) directed the performance, but it really it might as well have been directed by anyone. Note : I'm not hating, Romanek is very talented and I could watch One Hour Photo and his Johnny Cash "Hurt" video a thousand times over. Numerous people come to watch and participate, but Romanek concentrates on famous people, Juda Apatow ( who frankly steals his portion of the show), Jim Jarmusch and other art luminaries. Frankly its all a little too.....cool. Jay-Z the hipster if you will. The Jigga man is clearly having a good time, but why not take him somewhere else to put on the piece? If music, hip-hop in particular have taught us anything, its that art can exist outside of the gallery. Take Jay-Z on some surprise visits to middle or high school music and art classes. A pop in performance piece in front of kids from Brooklyn to the heartland maybe. I'd be more interested in their reactions than those from New York's art elite.