The Easter Egg In BTS RM’s “Still Life” Music Video That Shows Why He Is The Most Authentic Art Influencer
BTS leader RM surprised ARMYs with a whole music video for his track “Still Life,” featuring Anderson Paak, on December 7, KST. From the concept to the looks, every aspect of the video left fans spellbound. But there is one easter egg, so typically RM-Esque, that many viewers might have missed out on!
Each and every frame of the “Still Life” music video is brimming with implications. The video shows RM inside a moving train, which is a perfect analogy for his interpretation of “Still Life.” The train is moving, but things inside seem still, much like how the artist sees Still Life paintings.
In one particular shot, as RM moves through the train, his momentary images are left behind. Each of these images is distorted into multiple pieces. as if multiple still pictures of his were jumbled together on one canvas. While an ingenious concept on its own, this shot is actually a reference to one of RM’s beloved artists, David Hockney.
David Hockney’s 1980s series “Joiners” consisted of similar visual pieces. Hockney stitched together multiple polaroids into one picture to signify movement in a still frame.
It wasn’t just a photograph. It was abstracted…The joiners were much closer to the way we actually see things, closer to the truth of experience.
—David Hockney, The David Hockney Foundation
RM has shown his admiration for Hockney’s work on multiple occasions, from photoshoots to visiting his exhibits with friends. But the fact that he was able to integrate Hockney’s art into a completely different medium and genre so effortlessly speaks volumes of what kind of a creative genius he is.
