Chair used in the music video "Scream" by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson
date: label: Date
content: 1995
name: label: Designed by
content: Ron Arad, British Israeli, born 1951
label: Used by
content: Michael Jackson, American, 1958 - 2009
label: Used by
content: Janet Jackson, American, born 1966
notes: label: Caption
content: This chair was used in the 1995 music video for the duet "Scream" by siblings Michael and Janet Jackson. The song, along with "Childhood," was the first single released from Michael Jackson's ninth studio album, "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I", and was a response to the media's treatment. The video, directed by Mark Romanek, is shot in black and white and features the two singers living on a spacecraft. Both of them sit in the chair while viewing digital renderings of classic works of art by clicking a handheld remote. The video was nominated for eleven (11) MTV Video Music Awards and won three (3) of them. It was also awarded the Billboard Music Award for Best Pop/Rock Video and the Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form. At $7 million, it remains one of the most expensive music videos ever made. The stark, futuristic setting has become iconic and continues to influence music videos into the twenty-first century. Janet Jackson performed the song during a tribute to her recently deceased brother at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
label: Description
content: An off-white leather chair with oversized rounded arms used in the music video for the song "Scream" by Michael and Janet Jackson. The base of the chair is square, with the seat extending outward slightly and curved to fit each leg of the sitter at the center front. The back of the seat and the backs of the arms are at a slightly lower angle than the front. The upper back of the chair is curved. Self-piping is attached around the outline of the back and the arms. Four (4) short wooden feet are attached to the base, one in each corner.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Funk (Music)
label: Topic
content: Popular music
label: Topic
content: Rhythm and blues (Music)
label: Topic
content: Rock and roll (Music)
label: Topic
content: Singers (Musicians)
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Props and Set Design
label: Movement
content: Afrofuturism
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2014.97.1
objectType: label: Type
content: armchairs
label: Type
content: props (object genres)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Ron Arad
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: leather, foam, and wood
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 36 3/4 × 50 3/4 × 38 in. (93.3 × 128.9 × 96.5 cm)