Live music performances accompanied by the first showing of music videos created by teams of students
Sydney Meetze
Staff Writer
Photo By Zoey Molina
Group Therapy Performing in Rutledge Building
On Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m., Expanded Media at Winthrop held a free cultural event in Rutledge 119 to premiere music videos created by teams of students enrolled in the “Music Videos: Modes of Representation” class. While marketed as “not a concert,” the event featured live performances by Nehi and Group Therapy, both music artists who collaborated with students to create music videos for their songs.
The lecture hall, which can comfortably seat 72 guests, was packed with attendees. Students stood by the entrance or sat on the ground when they could not find a seat. Colored lights and a smoke machine created a playful atmosphere, and vivid fractal artwork videos were projected onto the artists as they performed.
The event began when each team of students took the stage to introduce themselves and their role within the production, such as editor, producer, videographer, and stylist, before the audience quieted to watch the premiere of each video. The mood of the music videos ranged from dreamlike and wistful to chaotic and fun, seamlessly matching the mood of each song.
According to Josiah Johnson, vocalist for the band Group Therapy, this type of synergy was present within the whole process of working with the students.
“It was really awesome— the students were super receptive,” Johnson said. “Everything they wanted to do, we said, ‘yeah, let’s do that’, and even when we would pitch in and say ‘let’s get this shot,’ they said ‘yeah, absolutely.’ It was a lot of just perfect collaboration.”
Stephanie Sutton, Professor of Expanded Media and instructor for the Music Video class, said that she had collaboration in mind when choosing the artists for this year’s class.
“The artists I chose were all in some way related to Rock Hill through Mike Gentry’s Don’t Sweat It Fest, so he put us in connection there,” Sutton said. “I watched a few bands and thought, ‘Who would be fun to work with?’ I wanted them to represent something a little more dynamic, because that’s the students job…to figure out how to represent identity well in the videos. I also wanted them younger this year, because I wanted them to feel more collaborative with the students.”
When asked why students should take the class, Sutton said, “Students love the component that you’re working with real-world clients and you’re facing real-world challenges. Things like scheduling, logistics, coordinating everyone for footage.” However, according to Sutton, this is only one piece of what makes the class valuable.
“In this class, we get to look at pop culture and really dissect it for the sociological value, art history value, political value,” Sutton said. “I cannot think of a better conduit for those conversations.”
Tyler Lowe, an art history major who participated in the class, said that the class gave her a new appreciation for music videos.
“I loved music videos before, but I never took the time to seek them out and watch them,” Lowe said. “Now, I love that they are basically modern art history in the form of video art. I could go on and on about this. We learned a lot…I took notes religiously, every lecture.”
Having such a unique class does not come without trials. According to both Sutton and Lowe, the class ran into scheduling difficulties with musicians and other such issues.
“After facing difficulties with one artist, we pivoted to another artist and had an amazing time,” Lowe said. “Ashner, the new artist, watched our footage and ended up working the music around that, and that was really cool because it matched so well.”
“We had a few hiccups with musicians, and I was really surprised at how well the students handled themselves,” Sutton said. “They were very professional about it. Nobody was blaming anyone…I was proud and surprised by their loyalty to one another.”
Victoria Martinez, an expanded media major who attended the event, gave a glowing review of each artist who performed.
“I loved (Group Therapy)! I loved their energy and stage presence, the way they incorporate a little acting, little bits into their set,” Martinez said. “I’ve seen Nehi perform before at the courthouse. Nehi always brings a lot of energy, and he brought the same energy, maybe more this time, which was really cool (to see) again.”
In Lowe’s opinion, the music video cultural event was well worth attending.
“I came in tonight, extremely exhausted because of finals…but now my energy feels very renewed. You want music to energize people, and the community. It was really effective in that way.”
