Table of Contents
Introduction
Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating performing artifacts, technical skills, and visuals intended to express the author’s imaginative power and emotional beauty. A broader definition of art includes music, theater, film, dance, literature and interactive media. The piece is at this moment focused on Michael Jackson because he is a pop icon, “king of pop,” his ability to combine music, dance and body expressions as an expression of art in music.
Music and Dance
Michael Jackson was an American singer, record producer, actor, songwriter, and philanthropist. He was a true embodiment of music and dance as an art. His contribution to the scene of art went beyond music and dance and embraced fashion which made him a popular culture and unique performer for over four decades of his work.
My inspiration to Michael Jackson comes from his single debuts of music videos of the 1980s including “Beat it,” “Billie Jean,” and “Thriller.” His music is a composition of sensitive message about the ills of society including racisms and putting forth a belief to every generation and race has the ability of success irrespective of one’s background if we are willing to embrace change and work hard in it (Zorr, Nemo, Muppet, & More, 2009). This status as an icon is brought forth mainly in three fronts including; music, dance, and fashion.
His musical style such as the thriller in itself to me represents a state of artistic design that has never been rivaled since it was produced. The artistic articulation of music and synchronicity of raw vocal sound in his performance on stage or video is so captivating that real current music artist stands a chance of beating. The fact that he stood for what he believed in and worked had towards its achievement is a compelling desire I desire to emulate. In his album the Thriller, he broke the barriers of racism and transformed it into a form of art and a promotional tool.
The energy with which his songs are performed and the decorum of the vocal crew brings forth a universal set of choreography that inspires me to the desire for association with such fine art of vocal synchronicity (Kisselgoff & Anna, 2009). Such traits of his performance of complicated vocal and dance techniques such as the robot and the moonwalk are outstanding and clearly continued to impress another performing artist to date. As such, many artists of various music genres have been influenced by his distinctive sound and style.
Michael Jackson has since been recognized as the most successful vocalist entertainer worldwide by Guinness World Records. His success in the art of music has shown him rise above barriers and won hundreds of awards and becoming the most awarded recording artist popular music history. I am equally impressed with his acute sense of humanity, he traveled the whole world attending events and honoring his humanitarian activities and supporting charities more than any musician in the world.
His actions and belief are an inspiration to the human race that anything that is not a physical feature can be realized through hard work. My love for his style of music and dance as an art is greatly inspirational in his ability to form this movement that cared for humanity all over the world. His music artworks went beyond race and as such he emerged as his person who was loved by all audiences across the world (Zorr, Nemo, Muppet, & More, 2009). He used the music art scene in the transformation of rock and roll and the mainstream press to come to terms with the fact that the biggest pop star in the world was a young black man who broke down barriers in his way.
Jackson’s style of music and dance performance of “Thriller” imposed an allegro of musical art and made its video to be included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It became one of the 25 films referred to as the “works of enduring importance to American culture” that was to be “preserved for all time.” Looking at music as an art, Michael Jackson’s music, dance, and fashion will always remain an inspirational piece of art.
Fashion
“My attitude is if fashion says it’s forbidden, I’m going to do it,” was a quote by Michael Jackson. When I watch his music videos, performance and award shows, I always come into reality with many iconic styles of fashion creation. Whatever he wore immediately became a fashion as his global fans would try to emulate his looks (Kisselgoff & Anna, 2009). He had no boundaries in fashion, and he would go as far as wearing anything that had not been won by any person as well as ordinary wear and make it fashion.
His fashion style was an influence that extended beyond mainstream into the world setting footprints in the realms of fashion design as an art. The fashion and style became part of his identity as he learned how to match it with his pop music to bring a blend of attraction and stardom in the center stage of his performances. Red jacket and white hand gloves were his signatures that have continued to set the trend and influence the modern generation as it is being paid homage to and copied by many artists.
Some of his most memorable appearances that have remained a cutting edge in the fashion industry include his white suite put on the cover of his famous album the Thriller (Kisselgoff & Anna, 2009). The suit was a gesture of dominance in his career that no one could match his talent and achievement in the music industry; it was a representation of his soulful side. The Moto jacket he wore on the cover “Bad album” was another fashion design that he propelled to the arena of ideal fashion. This was a representation that he was still edgy symbolizing his agility and power reminiscent of his control in pop music.
The hat is another fashion that he integrated into his music choreography to put out his incredible performances, and as such, it was more than just an accessory. His hat allowed him to hide his identity for a while from the audience. However, this was often betrayed by his style and dancing almost immediately he steps foot on stage (Kisselgoff & Anna, 2009). He also transformed the casual letterman jacket into a widely accepted casual jacket won the world over.
Death
In June 2009, Michael Joseph Jackson was pronounced dead; this brought forth revelations of his disturbing dependence on prescription drugs. His autopsy revealed that his death was a homicide and his physician was charged with wrongfully administering sedative medicine and as such was charged with manslaughter.
The revelation of his death to the world was a big blow to music, dance, and fashion as critical components of visual and performing art the world had ever seen (Zorr, Nemo, Muppet, & More, 2009). To me as an artist, I believe that the music art scene lost a legend of its kind and it will take it decades to even to find a near match for such an artistic performance. The blend and mixture of such a raw enduring vocals, rigor and vigor of dance, and unmatched fashion is a piece of an artistic phenomenon that cannot be brought forth anytime soon.
Conclusion
Michael Jackson was a preternatural gifted and biggest pop star who shaped the style and sound of the 20th century changing the cultural contours of America. He revolutionized the pop music industry of his era by projecting himself into the platform of near eternal stardom. He managed to go through challenges in life and overcame them which is an indication of the molting process that precedes success in the area of performing art.
- Kisselgoff, & Anna. (2009). Stage: The Dancing Feet of Michael Jackson. New York: New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
- Zorr, Nemo, Muppet, & More. (2009). Wide VAriety Tapped for 2009 Film Registry. New York: Library of Congress. Retrieved May 31, 2015.