JEN STARK x MTV

Jen Stark was invited to create original animations and artwork for the stage and promotional material of the 32nd MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Miley Cyrus, which aired live on August 30, 2015.

As the featured artist, Stark reimagined the visual identity of the 32nd installment of the awards show with her unique asthetic. In an early teaser video for the show, a colorful wormhole acts as a tunnel for a floating space suit-clad Cyrus, the always entertaining Disney darling turned pop icon who brought twerking and tongue poking into the cultural mainstream. In other promotional materials, Cyrus poses playfully in front of Stark’s dripping designs. Going beyond advertisement, Stark’s monumental hand-painted billboard in Los Angeles of Cyrus licking a moonman on a meltdown background, act as temporary public artworks, showcasing the brilliant patterns and colors that Stark masterfully choreographs. These videos also played on billboards in Time Square and Port Authority. For the polished precision of her animations for the show, Stark worked with David Lewandowski, director and animation artist known for his bizarrely humorous meme-prone videos.

During the show itself, Stark’s work was featured in an animated set design displayed on a massive LED screen of the artist’s trippy, drippy scheme for Cyrus’ dramatic entrance: the hostess sliding onstage through a rainbow wormhole. Stark also customized the MTV logo for the show’s broadcast, envisioning the iconic graphic as a candy-colored meltdown.