SAN FRANCISCO (September 27, 2022) -- Arkive, the world's first decentralized physical museum, has announced its most recent acquisition: Madonna's “Vogue” Fans, owned by Vincent Paterson. At the peak of her fame, Madonna and her dancers held these three cloth fans during her performance of “Vogue” at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. This latest acquisition round, titled 'Dance Dance Revolution,' featured two ballot options for members: the famous fans alongside the shirt Vincent Paterson wore in Michael Jackson's “Beat It” video.
On the heels of her Blond Ambition Tour, Madonna hired Paterson to choreograph her now famous “Vogue” performance for the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards; its music video counterpart was nominated for nine MTV Video Music Awards. In strong contrast to the black and white Art Deco style music video, Paterson suggested she choose an aristocratic aesthetic for the live performance. Madonna dressed in likeness to Marie Antoinette while her supporting dancers acted as her court– each wielding one of the cloth fans that, when opened, sent a satisfying snap through the venue.
“Vincent Paterson is one of the most influential figures of 1980s pop culture. From spending years working with icons like Madonna and Michael Jackson, Paterson has acquired a collection of unique items that haven't seen the light of day in decades. The Arkive community is honored to welcome the fans to our collection and thankful for all the great insights from Vincent himself,” said Tom McLeod, founder of Arkive.
This acquisition joins four other artifacts to expand Arkive's 'When Technology Was a Game Changer' collection. The first cultural artifact introduced into Arkive's gallery was the patent for the world's first computer, the ENIAC (1946). Next came Seduction (1985), a vintage print by Lynn Hershman Leeson, followed by the MTV Moonman prototype (1984) by Pat Gorman. Most recently, the community acquired its first video work, Eulogy for a Black Mass by Aria Dean.
“These fans are very special to me because they served as the inspiration for Madonna's 1990 MTV Video Music Awards performance of 'Vogue',” said Vincent Paterson, choreographer of the performance. “Since then, I have held on to these fans as a personal keepsake. Now, I am excited to have these fans in the Arkive collection to be enjoyed by a larger group of people who love history and pop culture.
Arkive is taking applications for the first 1,000 members. As an alpha member, you will have curatorial power, access to IRL and digital experiences, and early access to Arkive's future NFT-based membership.
To apply to be an alpha member, visit Arkive.net.
About Vincent Paterson
Vincent Paterson is a director and choreographer whose seminal accomplishments span film, Broadway theater, opera, concerts and tours, music videos, television, and commercials.
Paterson famously created many works for Madonna and Michael Jackson, including Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour (on which the film, Truth or Dare is based) and her legendary “Vogue” performance for MTV, as well as the choreography for her videos for “Express Yourself” and “Vogue.” For Michael Jackson, with whom he worked for almost two decades, he created the Bad Tour, as well as the videos for “Smooth Criminal” and “Blood On The Dance Floor,” among multiple other music videos and live performances. Paterson has directed, choreographed, and lectured around the world, and his star-studded list of collaborators also includes Van Halen, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Lee Ann Rimes, Diana Ross, Lionel Ritchie, David Lee Roth, Slash, Whitney Houston, to name a few.
His work is featured in the best-selling Smithsonian publication, Masters of Movement: Portraits of America's Greatest Choreographers and is the subject of an award-winning documentary titled The Man Behind The Throne. This fall, he will publish his first book with Rare Bird Books, Icons and Instincts: Dancing, Divas and Directing and Choreographing Entertainment's Biggest Stars.
About Arkive
Arkive is the world's first decentralized physical museum. Arkive's brand-new model of how a museum can operate gives the people the power to curate and select what items are culturally significant, rather than institutions. Built by museum alums from MoMA and Gagosian Galleries, Arkive was co-founded by Tom McLeod, a 5x founder who exited his last startup, Omni, to Coinbase, and prior to that ran Pagelime (acquired by SurrealCMS in 2015), LolConnect (acquired by Tencent in 2012), and Imaginary Feet which developed 15+ profitable iPhone apps enjoyed by over 10 million users.
Arkive's investors include Offline Ventures, TCG Crypto, NFX, Freestyle Capital, Not Boring Capital, Awesome People Ventures, ChainforestDAO, Coinbase Ventures, Parade Ventures, Saltwater, Darling Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Coil, Paul Veradittakit of Pantera Capital, Joe McCann, Leore Avidar from Alt, Spice Capital, Chris Cantino of Color Capital, Marty Bell of Poolsuite, Flexx Chapman and Commodore from Krause, Ethan Beard, and Sarah Gibson Tuttle CEO of Olive & June.
For more information, visit Arkive.net.
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