
Beyonce’s ‘Hold Up’ video famous for her bountiful car smashing follows in the footsteps of Swiss artist, Pipilotti Rist’s ‘Ever is Over All’ 1997 video.
Probably one of the most eye-catching videos from Beyonce’s sixth studio album ‘Lemonade’ directed by Jonas Akerlund who also directed Beyonce’s ‘Haunted’ music video for her previous self-titled album.
‘Hold Up’ draws many similarities with Rist’s short film which comprises of a young female dressed in a pale blue dress waltzing down the street smashing into car windows with a flower.
‘Ever is Over All’ essentially was a feminist representation of self-liberation and rebellion against cultural norms with the woman in the video being the epitome of femininity.
The flower held by the woman in the original video is believed to represent the traditional portrayal of the delicate nature of femininity however the flower is used purposely to smash into the windows of cars and break down male barriers.
Both ‘Hold Up’ and ‘Ever is All Over’ are full of ecstatic colour, Rist’s use of these saturated colours in her 1997 film was representative of liberation and raises how unknowingly we tend to suppress colour as a society.
Despite some criticism for Beyonce’s lack of originality, the pertinence of Rist’s film and its bold celebration of feminism and self- liberation brought into the limelight through the ‘Hold Up’ video means the original will continue to live on not just as apart of ‘Lemonade’ but also in its own right.
Take a look at ‘Ever is All Over’ below: