Arthur Jafa: Love Is the Message, The Message Is Death

Love Is the Message, The Message Is Death is an acclaimed video work by visual artist, cinematographer, and film director Arthur Jafa (American, b. 1960). At seven and a half minutes, the video powerfully condenses the history and lived experience of Black life in the United States into a rapid, emotionally charged montage. Set to Kanye West’s gospel-inflected track “Ultralight Beam,” the piece combines found footage from films, news broadcasts, viral videos, and historical archives with Jafa’s own material, creating a layered visual collage that moves fluidly across time. The video juxtaposes moments of profound joy and creativity with scenes of violence and oppression. Images of Black cultural achievement featuring musicians, athletes, dancers, and public figures are interwoven with stark documentation of police brutality, civil rights, and everyday vulnerability. This constant oscillation produces an emotional rhythm that mirrors the complexities of Black existence, where celebration and trauma are inseparable.

Jafa’s editing technique is central to the work’s impact. He manipulates the speed and sequencing of images to emulate what he calls “Black visual intonation,” drawing inspiration from the expressive timing and tonal shifts of Black music. The result is not simply illustrative but experiential. Viewers feel the cadence, tension, and release embedded in the imagery. Through its intense audiovisual synthesis, the piece achieves Jafa’s stated goal: to create a form of cinema with the same power, complexity, and emotional depth as Black music. The title of the video references MFSB’s song Love Is the Message (1973) and the science fiction short story, Love is the Plan and the Plan is Death, (1973) by Alice Sheldon a.k.a. James Tiptree Jr.

This exhibition is curated by Chelsea Pierce, PhD, and organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art. The video is on loan from the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art.