MARK ROMANEK: MUSIC VIDEO STILLS. (STILL IN THE ORIGINAL SHRINKWRAP). This item is unavailable.MARK ROMANEK: MUSIC VIDEO STILLS. (STILL IN THE ORIGINAL SHRINKWRAP)

There is a danger in stilling something that's built for speed. Music videos, especially, are the stuff of visual overdrive, and viewing Romanek's award-winning frames on the static page is frustrating for fans overstimulated by computers and television. As 2001 approaches--an important year for Romanek, given his love for the late director Stanley Kubrick and his film 2001--the question remains whether image is enough to hold a gaze. Images from "Jump, They Say" (1993) provoke an affirmative answer mostly because of David Bowie's perversely photogenic face. Madonna, the artist with the most MTV Video Music Awards under her belt, fails to mesmerize, however, with her cliched poses from "Rain" (1993). Overall, the more compelling stills do not feature pop stars. For Nine Inch Nails's "The Perfect Drug" (1997) video, Romanek combined Edgar Allen Poe imagery (ravens and skulls) with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland hookahs and mazes. The 175 color images are clear and finely reproduced, but Romanek's "pleasantly disturbing dreams" remain more beautiful in motion.