Juke

2006
Digital Video

Juke wrestles with the racial associations and history of American popular music: must music be either black or white? Taking a formal note from Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests, Pinder performs in and directs a series of videos featuring African Americans of different ages and genders, filmed closely framed against a plain white background. Each performer lipsynches with fidelity to songs by white musicians from different genres. In Juke, the juxtaposition between song and performer asks if the viewer can get beyond seeing race.