The Best Visual Artist-Directed Music Videos of All Time

Image via Complex Original

Art Director: Will Cotton
Date released: June 15, 2010

Katy Perry's 2010 collaboration "California Gurls," featuring Snoop Dogg, doesn't look too promising on paper, but the pop cut actually holds some artistic weight. American painter Will Cotton brought sugary motifs from his works like Candy Stick Forest and Sugar Beach into the video. Perry's hit record became delicious eye candy.

The video is set in Candyfornia, a pop music version of Candy Land. Perry sings amid cupcakes, cotton candy, lollipops, and other sweets. Snoop Dogg plays the role of Sugar Daddy, and both artists appear as pieces in the board game. Cotton created multiple props for the video, including the board game and larger-than-life scenery.

Director: Dr. Romanelli
Date released: Dec. 23, 2013

Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city has been hailed as a hip-hop classic since its 2012 release. K.Dot's music collided with the art world a year later with the release of the 12-minute short "Sing About Me (Part 1)."

Director Darren "Dr." Romanelli filmed scenes with Lamar and artist Eddie Peake. Kendrick appears in his native setting of Compton, Calif. while Peake works on a mixed-media graffiti mural based on the TDE artist's life.

Romanelli included a message before the music video to explain his work: "When the lights shut off, an artist's dream is that their work will stand the test of time. The ones that influence our culture are the ones we most remember. Here, two powerful creative forces come together to elevate the status quo and lay ground to their legacy. This is their poetry. Sing about them. This is part one."

Director: Remo Camerota
Date released: Oct. 20, 2013

Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" moved the masses in 1975 during the height of the disco era. In 2013, the producer behind Summer's classic hit, Giorgio Moroder, worked with Chris Cox on a special remix for the compilation "Love to Love You Donna." While disco isn't playing in most clubs anymore, the remix appeals to modern music fans while paying tribute to yesterday's classic.

For the music video Remo Camerota delivered a street art inspired ode to Summers. With Camerota in the director's chair, much of the focus was on colorful paint as well as a woman covered in body paint. After the video was completed, Verve Music Group had the artist design promotion materials for the project as well as the album's packaging.

Director: Mr. Brainwash
Date released: Oct. 19, 2012

David Guetta and Nicky Romero's "Metropolis" received video treatment from none other than Mr. Brainwash. The graffiti artist and filmmaker used a colorful approach for the high-energy dance track, the first release of Guetta's new label, Jack Back Records.

David Guetta stresses his appreciation of the street art world in the behind-the-scenes of the video. The video is a fusion of messages of music, art, and love. Mr. Brainwash created the video in the same way he entered filmmaking—blindly. Mr. Brainwash uses vinyl, speakers, televisions, and guitars splattered and exploding with various colors of paint. David Guetta is seen graffiti writing in the first portion of the video before appearing in front of vast crowd.

Director: William Wegman
Date released: 1988

New Order's "Blue Monday" was originally released in 1983 and rejuvenated with remixes in 1988 and 1995. The original video featured low-resolution computer graphics, military visuals, and the themes from the 1982 arcade game Zaxxon. Re-recording and mixing by Quincy Jones, as well as a new music video, ushered the "Blue Monday '88" version into the new decade.

The video features William Wegman's simple sketches, powered by animation from Robert Breer. Wegman's Weimaraner dog named Fay Ray appears throughout the video along with New Order band members. The group enacts puzzling tasks, such as pretending to walk a plank and shielding their faces while being hit by tennis balls.

Director: Doug Aitken
Date released: 2003

Interpol burst onto the New York rock scene with their 2002 debut "Turn on the Bright Lights." American multimedia artist Doug Aitken directed the band's second single, "NYC." 

Aitken created a digital montage featuring designs and pictures spliced with night vision footage of Interpol in a quiet setting. The latter portion displays an abstract blend between art and band footage. Outside of his contributions to Interpol's "NYC," Aitken has also worked with Fatboy Slim.

Director: Anton Corbijn
Date released: Aug. 1, 2008

Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" was an infectious hit for the alternative group. Aside from the abundance of radio play and commercial success, the group opted for two video versions. The first was directed by Hype Williams and showed Coldplay performing in front of an abstract backdrop. The second video was shot in the Netherlands under the direction of Anton Corbijn.

The storyline for Corbijn's video draws inspiration from an earlier work of his, Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence." Chris Martin portrays the king from his song. Equipped with Eugène Delacroix's painting, Liberty Leading the People, Martin takes a journey to find a place to hang the painting. The video was shot in film stock, which is much different than the sharper version directed by Williams.

Directors: Kii Arens, Jason Trucco
Date released: Nov. 8, 2013

Queens of the Stone Age wanted to debut their video for "The Vampyre of Time and Memory" off their 2013 release, ...Like Clockwork on Halloween, but they had to wait until the following month to release their haunting work. The band released a non-traditional video, putting the fans and viewers in charge of navigation, a trendy choice by many artists in 2013. Queen of the Stone Age's music video was reminiscent of the Are You Afraid of the Dark: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse video game.

The band called upon Kii Arens and Jason Trucco to create the video, which lived on an interactive website. The directors teamed up with the Darknet production company in conjunction with The Creator's Project. Along with grim visuals and unsettling images, the band appears encompassed by taxidermy animals.

Director: Cesar Kuriyama
Date released: Dec. 3, 2008

One of the lesser-known videos on this list is Fat City Reprise's "Long Gone." The Philadelphia rock outfit may not be on your radar, but their "Long Gone" video is exceptional and completely worthy of your attention.

The group enlisted photographer Cesar Kuriyama to create visuals for their 2009 track, and what Kuriyama came up with was nothing short of genius. Instead of using a video camera, Kuriyama laced 45,000 photographs taken with a Nikon D200 DSLR into a stunning four-minute video.

Director: Fab 5 Freddy
Date released: 1991

Gang Starr's sophomore album Step in the Arena sported a lead single, the easy classic "Just To Get a Rep." The track captures the group's talent and groundbreaking skills, while featuring two samples of Jean-Jacques Perrey's "E.V.A." and Nice & Smooth's "Funky for You."

Hip-hop pioneer and graffiti legend Fab 5 Freddy created a black-and-white video for the narrative cut set in Williamsburg. Quick camera angles transition between scenes, and detailed and exaggerated shots stress the connection to the lyrics. Freddy chose to use Gang Starr Foundation members to help bring Guru's lyrics to life. The video was shot in under 16 hours.

Director: Shepard Fairey
Date released: May 7, 2011

In 2008, Death Cab For Cutie bassist Nick Harmer sent the lyrics from "Home Is a Fire" over to American contemporary street artist Shepard Fairey. The song appeared on the group's eighth studio album, Codes and Keys, which later received a Best Alternative Music Album nomination at the Grammys.

Fairey found a double meaning in the message of the song: the first, home as a sanctuary; the second, it's a place that may be imprisoning. In the video, the idea of "Home" is portrayed as a journey through the city, with street art is the universal language. Fairey's team filmed pre-existing art and also created new wheatpaste installations.

Director: Nick Knight
Date released: 2001

Björk's "Pagan Poetry" was the singer's second single off her fifth studio-album Vespertine. A decade before his work with Lady Gaga and Kanye West, British fashion photographer Knight tried his hand directing his first music video for "Pagan Poetry."

Björk's most controversial video was shot in three stages. The first was a detailed look into the piercings, followed by a direct shoot with Björk, which was handled by Knight. The final stage was a private shoot created by Björk herself, which involved a raw and sexual sequence shot with a Sony HD camera. Appearing topless, Björk allowed viewers to have an honest look into her love life.

Björk appears in an Alexander McQueen dress, beginning mid-abdomen, while the top half of her body is pierced with pearls. Knight used a great deal of post-production powered by Peter Marin, who tied the video together with abstract drawings fading in and out.

Director: Jeremy Blake
Date released: 2002

In 2002, Beck enlisted the services of digital artist and painter Jeremy Blake to curate the artwork for his album Sea Change. The visual artist also directed Beck's "Round The Bend" music video.

Blake created a melancholy video for the track off Beck's eighth studio-album. Blake channeled some of the same inspiration he used while working on the film Punch-Drunk Love. For Round the Bend, Blake created fluorescent moving paintings that blended into one another. The lines and flower illustrations coupled with camera flares created a unique world appropriate for the theatrical music.

Director: Terry Richardson
Date released: Dec. 16, 2013

Beyonce broke the Internet in late 2013 when she unexpectedly released her self-titled album and caught everyone by surprise. She coupled her big release with 17 music videos. One of those videos, "XO," was filmed under the direction of fashion and celebrity photographer Terry Richardson.

Richardson showed incredible poise as the director of "XO," creating an amusement park wonderland in Brooklyn's historic neighborhood of Coney Island. The video captured the once magical feeling of the legendary amusement park and it's natural surrounding, as well as the bright lights that continue to shine through the neighborhood's turn.

While his recent work behind the camera for Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" is meant to shock, this video was more uplifting and party-oriented. Richardson tamely captured Beyonce's vibe with ease.

Director: Marco Brambilla
Date released: Aug. 5, 2010

Kanye West's "Power," the infectious lead single off his critically acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy marks a pivotal time in his career. During this release, West noted a change in his songwriting, a stylistic and aesthetically different approach. West enlisted installation artist Marco Brambilla to direct the song's video. Brambilla cast Irina Shayk, Jessica White, and runway model Diandra Forrest in the video.

Brambilla created a moving work of art for Kanye. The 103-second video shows the rapper in a regal state as the camera pans out and reveals women surrounding him. Brambilla's influences included Renaissance art and Greek mythology. Towards the end, the video ultimately portrays West's demise and death as two warrior characters close in on him.

Director: Jamie Hewlett
Date released: 2001

The Gorillaz's single "Clint Eastwood" became widely popular shortly after the premiere of the animated music video, which was directed by Gorillaz co-founder and comic book artist Jamie Hewlett. The video is considered The Gorillaz's worldwide introduction, and Hewlett's art became the face of the virtual band.

Aside from the bearing the same name as American film star Clint Eastwood, the song samples audio from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The video stars all four virtual members as well as rapper, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, who appears as a cartoon blue phantom. Drawing inspiration from films such as Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil, and Brainddeadas, well as Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, this was an easy standout in the early 2000s. Today the video has amassed well over 65 million views on YouTube.

Director: Ron Hays
Date released: 1981

Somewhere between the late '70s and early '80s, music took a hard turn away from disco. The once-powerful genre moved out of nightclubs and began to lose the glamour it once held. Earth Wind and Fire found themselves moving against the grain in 1981 with the release of their eleventh studio-album Raise! The album was anchored by their single "Let's Groove," a disco song at heart, but the group added different synthesizers, keyboards, and electric guitars.

The music video for "Let's Groove" was historic for many reasons. It was directed by Ron Hays, who used an unconventional Scanimate analog system. This created trippy electronic effects that didn't distract from the song's instrumentation. "Let's Groove" was also the first video ever played on BET's Video Soul program.

Director: Fab 5 Freddy
Date released: 1994

"One Love" served as the final single for Nas' legendary hip-hop classic Illmatic. The cut was produced by fellow Queens native and producer, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest. For the video of "One Love," Nas enlisted Fab 5 Freddy as director and created a storyline about his incarcerated friends.

Freddy shot the video in a number of locations, including Queensbridge, Harlem, and a New Jersey prison. A large portion of the b-role was shot in Harlem, where Freddy used street scenes to tie the video together. Freddy and his long time assistant, Brian Black Levar found a way to marry the storylines for "The World is Yours (Remix)" and "One Love" music videos. Levar was at the helm for the former, and the last scene from "The World Is Yours (Remix)" merges into Freddy's first scene in "One Love." Freddy claims this idea came from his days graffiti writing on trains, when it was ideal to find two train cars that were always linked.

Director: Vania Heymann
Date released: Nov. 19, 2013

Another incredible interactive video from 2013 was the one Vania Heymann created for Bob Dylan's 48-year-old classic "Like A Rolling Stone." Just two years shy of its 50th anniversary, Dylan's song finally received its first official music video.

The Israeli director curated a video that allows viewers to flip 16 channels of storylines. The video mimics watching television, but in each of the "shows," characters sing along with the video. Fool's Gold's very own Danny Brown, The Price Is Right's Drew Carey, Steve Levy of SportsCenter and members of the History Channel's Pawn Stars all lip synch to Dylan's voice.

The interactive factor became an instant hit among Dylan's fans. Heymann received a great deal of assistance from Interlude Studios. They are expected to continue to work closely and plan to add more channels and updates to the interactive video in the future.

Director: James Herbert
Date released: 1986

R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" appeared on their 1987 album Document. The video was directed by American painter James Herbert in the group's hometown, Athens, Georgia. Outside of painting, Herbert filmed many of R.E.M's visuals as well as short films. Herbert shared a strong bond with R.E.M., especially the group's frontman, Michael Stipe. Herbert was Stipe's art professor for a period at the University of Georgia, playing a large role in Stipe's artistic growth as an artist.

The video for "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" stars Noah Ray, a young local who was bullied. Ray rifles through an abandoned farmhouse, showing an array of relics to the camera. The video was inspired by a dream-therapy TV special that Herbert had seen not too long before directing it.

Director: Kanye West, Vanessa Beecroft
Date released: Oct. 25, 2010

Throughout his career Ye' has found a way, time after time, to channel those who inspire him. He has always showed a strong interest in art and design, befriending big names in many artistic fields. West called upon one of his favorite artists, Vanessa Beecroft, to create the 35-minute "Runaway" music video/short film.

Beecroft served as art director for this exceptional film, made for one of the tracks off of West's critically acclaimed album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The video was shot in Prague and pulls inspiration from music, modern art, and contemporary film. The storyline centers around the arrival and departure of a phoenix (Selita Ebanks), who West befriends and makes his girlfriend.

The team of West, Beecroft, and the film's cinematographer Kyle Kibbe worked together to marry Kanye's music with the art world.

Director: We Are From L.A.
Date released: Nov. 21, 2013

Back in Nov. 2013, Pharrell released the world's longest music video for "Happy," an astounding 24 hours. The historical video was created in conjunction with the standout track from Williams' Despicable Me 2 soundtrack.

The 24 hour non-stop party was directed by We Are From L.A. and features cameos from Tyler, the Creator, Magic Johnson, Steve Carrell, Jamie Foxx, and Jimmy Kimmel. The interactive video puts the users in control, allowing for timecode differential streaming, character swapping, and comment sharing on social media.

Director: Anton Corbijn
Date released: 1993 

In 1993 Nirvana released In Utero, their third and final studio album. One of the standout tracks on the record was "Heart-Shaped Box." The track reached #1 on the US Billboard Rock charts. Kevin Kerslake, who directed "Come As You Are" and "Lithium," was originally asked to be director, but when he had a scheduling conflict, Nirvana looked elsewhere.

Nirvana called upon Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn, known for his cover for U2's album Joshua Tree. Corbijn, skeptical at first, agreed to take the role of bringing Kurt Cobain's song to life. The video featured an elderly, hospitalized man, a young girl in KKK clothing, and other heavy imagery. Corbijn originally shot in color and edited the film to black and white. Later each frame was hand-crafted and recreated imitating a Technicolor technique.

The video garnered two MTV Video Music Awards in 1994, for Best Alternative Video as well as Best Art Direction.

Director: Roger Ballen
Date released: Jan. 31, 2012

The events of 2011 were the last straw in Die Antwoord's feud with Interscope Records. The band left the label and formed Zef Recordz, immediately releasing their second studio album Ten$lon. The single "I Fink U Freeky" brought greater international attention to the South African group.

For the video, Die Antwoord enlisted South African photographer Roger Ballen. Roughly five years after the group first came upon Ballen's work, they used his aesthetic and images in their videos, which gained viral attention. "I Fink U Freeky" finally brought both parties together for a five day shoot in a warehouse located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Director: Andy Warhol, Don Munroe
Date released: 1984

When they released "Hello Again," The Cars were one of the hottest music acts of the mid-1980s. The track followed widely popular singles such as "You Might Think," "Magic," and "Drive," making the single their fourth Top 20 hit off their fifth studio album. What better way to keep momentum on their side than to enlist the services of one of the biggest names in art, Andy Warhol?

Warhol starred and served as co-director of the "Hello Again" video alongside Don Munroe. A lineup of female co-stars included actress-turned-cosmetician Dianne Brill and a young Gina Gershon. The storyline was centered heavily around sexuality in media.

In The Andy Warhol Diaries the famed artist recalls the night at the Be-Bop Cafe on 8th Street: "I had to be a bartender and wear a tux. The crowd of extras looked like the old Factory days—Benjamin in drag, and a bald-headed mine in a Pierrot outfit, and John Sex with this snake. And then there was Dianne Brill with her big tits and hourglass figure. The Cars were cute."