It’s no surprise that The Carters have the power to change the course of one person’s life or the monetary trajectory of a historic establishment. According to The Guardian, Jay-Z and Beyonce‘s decision to record the “Apesh*t” video inside Paris’ Louvre Museum ignited a wave of visitors for 2018, notching in at 10 million people.
The figures’ prowess prompted the museum’s director, Jean-Luc Martin, to issue a statement partly crediting the Everything Is Love artists for influencing others to visit the institution. “It’s clear that 2018 was a remarkable year for the international reputation of the Louvre,” Martin said. “The Beyonce video, like the opening of the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, ensured that the Louvre was talked about across the world, and one of the consequences of that is the spectacular rise in visitor numbers last year.” Martin also credits the museum’s latest exhibitions for drawing a record number of people.
The visual, directed by Ricky Saiz, displays still shots of the world’s most iconic paintings and artifacts like the Mona Lisa to the “Portrait d’une négresse,” as the Carters breathe new life into the stills with their presence. For viewers and the artists, in particular, it provided a sense of freedom to command a place wrapped in colonialism, a feat Beyonce touched upon within an interview with Vogue.
“I don’t like too much structure. I like to be free. I’m not alive unless I am creating something,” she said. “I’m not happy if I’m not creating, if I’m not dreaming, if I’m not creating a dream and making it into something real. I’m not happy if I’m not improving, evolving, moving forward, inspiring, teaching, and learning.”
Revisit the artistic moment below.