WSJ. Magazine 2017 Art Innovator: Mark Bradford, knows a lot about the burden of expectation. When he was announced as the 2017 U.S. representative to the annual Venice Biennale, one of the art world’s most prestigious events, Bradford knew the mountain of expectations heaped upon him. But Bradford has made an artistic career of defying expectations and speaking his truth. His pavilion at the Biennale is an intensely personal work that explores the darkest moments of U.S. history while positing opportunities for hope. On the need for his work to channel hope, Bradford says “When you've seen enough darkness and you choose willfully, willingly to choose hope, that’s not naive. I choose to still have hope.”

WSJ. Magazine 2017 Innovator Awards

Crafting a better future from a world in flux. This is the hallmark of WSJ. Magazine's 2017 Innovators—a group of visionary, foundation-shaking luminaries working across seven fields. This year's talents were honored at the annual Innovator Awards on November 1 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Selected by WSJ. Magazine editors, the honorees were: Reese Witherspoon (Entertainment); Raf Simons (Fashion); Diller Scofidio + Renfro (Architecture); Roman and Williams (Design); Musical.ly (Technology); Ryan Heffington (Performing Arts); Mark Bradford (Art).

For the third year in a row, MediaStorm has used its multidisciplinary approach to create films that shine a light on the legacies and innovations of each individual. These films showcase some of MediaStorm’s greatest strengths: an ability to develop a captivating story under tight constraints; combining beautiful cinematography and motion graphics to add unparalleled finesse; and working in close partnership with a client to get results.

These videos have been a critical part of WSJ’s strategy to drive it's audience to its site and to assert itself as the place of significance for the informed citizen.

In keeping with our mission to develop stories that matter, we are thrilled to play a role in recognizing the WSJ. Magazine 2017 Innovators.

The Wall St. Journal Magazine, for its seventh annual Innovator Awards, required short, fast paced, but personal, stories of innovation from each of its seven winners.

Mark Bradford, an artist with decades of experience and the perspective of a philosopher, gave us rich material for a deep narrative. With all of that, we were able to make a thoughtful video about his artistic practice. In addition to Bradford’s narrative, WSJ. Magazine secured an interview with former first lady Michelle Obama, who was willing to speak about the impact of Mark Bradford’s work. The challenge became finding a way to marry these two interviews into a thoughtful and cohesive statement on his art.

Editor/Producer Tim McLaughlin, decided to attach the Michelle Obama interview to the end of the video, while finding a way to connect the end of the Bradford video to the statement from Obama. He bridged the videos on the theme of hope, an oft-repeated phrase of the Obama era and a sentiment Mark Bradford often expressed.

The film premiered at the WSJ. Magazine 2017 Innovator Awards, on November 1st, and then published on the Wall St. Journal’s and MediaStorm’s websites the next day. It is a key tool for driving awareness to the magazine and the prestigious awards themselves.

With five global editions spanning 62 countries, WSJ. Magazine—which publishes 12 issues a year—is The Wall Street Journal's luxury-lifestyle publication dedicated to the power and passions of the Journal's readership.