I glanced down my twitter feed today and spied the following Post:
“Um, art world needs to stop this shit ASAP! Ga Ga and Terrence Koh suck ass: http://bit.ly/9TNPE3 #art #sucks”
Several questions immediately popped into my mind. What is this “art world”? is it like some sort of high counsel? Are people democratically appointed, is it a monarchy, or a fascist state? What exactly needs to be stopped? Why would the “art world” care about Lady Gaga? So I clicked the link. Curiosity killed the cat. I know this is a tired old story but it’s where my head was at today. Probably not a good idea given my recent lack of sleep.
I guess there’s been all sorts of discussions about whether or not Lady Gaga is an artist. And all of this baffles me.
A quote from this post on Metro WNY: “She is art! When you tear art into pieces it won’t make sense! She’s not like other pointless artists who just shake their booty for the whole song.”
or this one
“Art? You call that art? I suppose that you also call pissing and shitting on a statue of the Virgin Mary art too huh? Because that is all Lady GaGa is, a piece of shit ripoff artist who steals other peoples music and dances and sings horribly too. God it always amazes me how many retards out there will buy any piece of crap that is marketed to them.”
I didn’t honestly know much about Lady Gaga before today, aside from her love of spectacle, so I read up on her bio on wikipedia. I’ve got to say, she’s quite a woman.
The question of whether or not she is an artist is a funny one. She’s a musician and performer. She borrows from music, fashion, and art, like many musicians have done in the past. She lists Bowie, Queen, and Madonna amongst her inspirations. So I don’t really understand the issue. Is there some sort of art membership card you need to apply for? Does it really matter? And of course the age old question is bound to come up when people start batting around the “art” word outside of museums. What is art?
What is art… what is art? Is this art? Does the art world need to “put a stop to it?” I analyzed the video and hopes of finding an answer. Does it require concept, content and intention? Is gaga trying to communicate something when she puts one of her dancers on a neon crucifix? What’s with the bunny ears? Does she think she’s making art? And what about the pairing of formulaic pop music with this pop performance art stuff? Is this just the next generation of modern dance?
I could only come to one conclusion. Who cares. Let’s not call it art and say we did… or call it art and say we didn’t. The lines between ‘art’ and ‘not art’ are so blurred, there’s no point trying to define things. They are what they are. The performances and videos are pure spectacle. Gaga wants things over the top, she wants to shock, she wants fame and fortune. The music is easily digestible, poppy, danceable music. I personally think there’s a major disconnect between what she sounds like and what she looks like, but hey, it’s working for her. And I bet she couldn’t give a rat’s ass whether or not people in the “art world” consider her to be an artist.
So leave the art world membership card status alone. Why even bring it up? Thinking that art is an elitist club that only belongs to a select few is a stupid road to go down. So let’s just either like it, or not, or a little of both, and worry about bigger problems. At the end of the day, I’ve gotta give her props for creating such an intriguing persona. And if she wants to confuse me with seemingly random references to religion, violence and the easter bunny, I say more power to her.
But let’s consider the label once more. As far as the ‘A’ word goes. I don’t know what else to do but reject the word ‘art’ all together. If she’s not an artist, then am I one? Or not? do I get that art membership card because I have an art degree? I think maybe I should come up with a non-sensicle word to replace ‘art’ so that I can start over, from scratch, because I’m confused. Hmmm, might be safer to just call her an artist and get on with my own life. Otherwise the consequences might hinder my own progress as an artist. OK Lady Gaga, after careful consideration, I’ve decided to grant you that artist membership card. Aren’t you thrilled? Are the rest of you going to kick me off the high counsel now? Boy, I think I need some sleep. This post just gets more and more confusing and convoluted, kinda like a Lady Gaga video.