Strange, I've Seen That Face Before

Rihanna, "Rude Boy" video still, 2010.

Rihanna's new music video for "Rude Boy" is chock full of references to art history and popular culture. Flavorpill, examining the video scene-by-scene, pointed out traces of Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and MIA. Vulture also took notice, saying, "It's like Haring, Warhol, and M.C. Hammer visited the Caribbean in the seventies and made a music video about it in the nineties." I'm somewhat surprised that both publications failed to cite an obvious influence: Grace Jones.

Robert Mapplethorpe, Grace Jones, 1984. © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.

Jones was one of the most important black performers of the 1980s. At the height of her career -- 1978 to 1986 -- her modeling, acting and singing pursuits merged into a distinct androgynous persona. Joining forces with the French image-maker, Jean Paul-Goude, Jones crossed over from disco diva to prominent avant-garde performance artist. Her success coincided with an important period of production for artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Helmut Newton, Francesco Clemente, and the fashion designer Patrick Kelly. Jones was repeatedly the subject of their work. Examples include Warhol’s screen print, Grace Jones (1986); Clemente’s painting, Skin (1986); and Kelly’s Eiffel Tower headdress made especially for Jones to wear on the catwalk. She has made an indelible mark on visual culture.

Keith Haring and Grace Jones, circa 1985.

Rihanna (probably with the help of creative advisers) began to adopt the "Jones aesthetic" with the release of her current album Rated R. The soft and sweet girl who came on the scene with "Pon de Replay" now appears as an edgy, or "hard," vixen wrapped in barbed-wire. Jones is of course known for her bad-ass attitude and matching sense of style. With each new music video, fashion shoot, television and off-stage appearance, Rihanna's affinity to Jones grows more apparent. It is of note that both singers hail from the Caribbean.

Jones painted in a Masai-inspired pattern and outfitted by Keith Haring, Paradise Garage, 1985.

By now you can see that the scene from "Rude Boy" pictured atop is not just any nod to Haring, but specifically refers to his collaboration with Jones at the legendary New York City nightclub, Paradise Garage. In addition to painting her body, Haring dressed Jones in a costume made of chains, topped her head with a 3-foot handmade headpiece, and sculpted wire coils to emphasized her breasts. Scholars believe the latter was a direct reference to Alexander Calder's wire sculpture of Josephine Baker. It is no coincidence that, 2 minutes and 57 seconds into "Rude Boy," the camera zooms in on Rihanna's chest, which is adorned with black painted spirals.

Grace Jones, Vamp, 1986

Finally, the layering of patterns in Rihanna's music video calls to mind an unforgettable scene from Jones's 1986 b-movie, Vamp. In her role as a vampire exotic dancer, Jones, again painted by Haring, performs using a similarly decorated stage prop as her...well...pole. Trust me, you want to press play.

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*The title of this post was inspired by Jones's 1988 song "Strange" on the Frantic soundtrack. **I wrote a portion of the above text for an exhibition about Jones that I am curating (dates TBD).