Accompanying the surprise release of her new album Folklore (the visual art for which has some Robert Eggers-esque leanings), Taylor Swift released a new music video for her song “Cardigan” last night. Directed by the singer herself, the video features photography from none other than Rodrigo Prieto, a frequent collaborator with Martin Scorsese, Alejandro González Iñárritu, as well as Ang Lee.
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The album represents a significant stylistic shift for the pop star, or at least a return to her early days of music, opting for more subdued sounds and introspective, self-reflective lyrics – choices reflected by her choices in collaborators, including Aaron Dessner of The National and Bon Iver. As a pop star known for her acute awareness of her image, how the public perceives the idea of Taylor Swift, picking Prieto as DoP for a video as part of a work where she reckons with her own conception of that image, is a fascinating and very astute choice. His most well-known works are stoic but visually ambitious examinations of masculine hubris – such as Spike Lee’s “25th Hour,” through to the recent string of Scorsese films such as “The Irishman” and “Silence,” somber films to say the least.
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His collaborations with Scorsese, in particular, are works about great arrogance and endurance and how they complement each other, both introspective and even self-reflexive works examining the director’s relationship with faith and perhaps his own work. But there’s a tenderness to be found throughout Prieto’s body of work as well, with the passion of his Ang Lee projects “Lust, Caution” and “Brokeback Mountain,” and his work on the Pedro Almodovar melodrama “Broken Embraces.” The careful framing and rich, subtle colors of each of those works have found their way into the video for “Cardigan.” There’s a simple but magical air to it, as Swift remains the singular focus as she sings and plays the piano, the environments around her change from the soft yellow hues of a candlelit cabin, to the lush greens of a forest grove. That Swift and Prieto make such a compelling arc out of such a straightforward setup is a testament to both of their talents.