Lady Gaga ♦ The ARTPOP Era

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My friend Iris is a pop-culture fanatic and has an appreciation for art. So on the subject of ARTPOP, we have a special guest post today, presented below . . . enjoy!

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What happens if you mix pop music with a colorful art easel of neon colors? If you somehow created musical notes and strung them together to create a physical apparition? How about if you manage to get different sponsoring commercials together with major designers to work alongside with, while creating your own fashion-slash-preview show that fans have only a few hours to get to? Ladies and gentlemen, I am speaking of the magical world called ARTPOP, the album that is more than a musical collective by Lady Gaga, with heavy collaboration with many artists, including American contemporary artist, Jeff Koons.

Nikkos was kind enough to allow me to guest-post on his blog, and for once, a topic was easily at hand to choose from. Mixing my pop culture knowledge with his art world? In reality, the two worlds will always blend, but ARTPOP is a prime example of the two categories escaping all restrictions. Mother Monster (nickname to LG by her fans, called ‘the little monsters’) supplied us with many compelling pieces that helps brings her music to life. In the first single “Applause”, MTV.com discerns the lyrics which states, “One second I’m a Koons, then suddenly the Koons is me.”

ARTPOP – Album Cover

First, let’s discuss the album cover. Lady Gaga is imagined as a sculpture created by Koons. The sculpture is gorgeous and sensual, Gaga being in charge of her sexuality by cupping her breasts and placing a gazing ball in between her legs. The gazing ball is to emit a sort of transcendence outside of the individual, while reflecting back the soundstage equipment that helped create the photo. In the background, we see a kaleidoscope of imagery between two famous paintings, Gian Lorenzo Bernini‘s “Apollo and Daphne” and Sandro Boticelli’s “Venus”. Gaga plays the parts of both Apollo and Venus, transcending between masculine power and femininity, then into beauty. If I were to give my opinion, I feel that Gaga is now bringing forth the fruit of her loins, her new project that forces her to strip herself bare (back in a natural state), to return to the original intent of the music. In my humble opinion, it’s a rebirth of a phoenix. [MTV Article with Jeff Koons explaining ‘ARTPOP’ cover]

ARTPOP Pop Up Store: November 11-13, 2013

Fans that lived close to NYC and LA (or were able to travel to their Monster Mecca) had an excellent chance to experience the art-exhibit-slash-pop-up-shop. There was eye candy as well as one art room to draw and leave messages for their idol. Fans were allowed to play the Just Dance video games, buy merchandise for the album and view in-person the costumes Mother Monster rarely showed during different album eras. Hopefully, this helped fans immerse themselves fully into the world! [MTV.com]

Picture Courtesy of Joe Tabacca from The New York Daily News

Benjamin Rollins Caldwell, creator of the “Binary Chair” is made with circuit boards, metal, bathroom stall dividers, and more. The chair is heavily featured in different photo promotions. This chair has made a very prominent entrance into the art world, thanks to Lady Gaga’s interest. Fans and the art professionals alike have taken notice when she used it for her marketing ploy, tagging Caldwell on the micro social media site, Twitter. The chair will make its rounds during Design Miami at Art Basel (in Miami), to New York for another pop-up store, and traveling around the West Coast in a “binary technology tour.” After all is said and done, Gaga will have the chair in time for her tour. [Wall Street Journal’s Article about the Binary Chair]

artRAVE PARTY

On November 11, 2013, lucky fans were invited to a special album-release party for ARTPOP. Gaga, Little Monsters press and celebrities convened to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to celebrate. While LG was more than an hour late, all became well again as she stood in front of the Jeff Koons’ statue creation to perform a song off the album, called “Aura”. The musician continued the night with a fashion show from Haus of Gaga. Fans were treated to a real “binary room”, free food, and a costume dance party.

[Photo Courtesy of Billboard.com]

The brightest of all moments was when Gaga debuted Volantis, ‘the flying dress.’ [Courtesy of Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Benjamin Rollins Caldwell]

Tech Haus, the tech team behind the singer, strapped her in and out a battery-operated bodice with “hex-formation” devices, to show the public a new flying device. All though it only hovered over the ground, Gaga truly reached new heights with her experiment, without any fear of it backfiring. Of course, critics can claim that this was a mission for promo, but Mother Monster explains the importance of Volantis. This extravagant example of a continued mergence between different types of crazy talents can create new media for fans and creators alike. [Billboard.com – Lady Gaga and Volantis, video included.]

Gaga truly seemed to transcend outside of the bubble for pop music. While she wanted to to reach a new point with organic musical ability, it’s her vision for the future that helps transcend and transforms the image of Lady Gaga, into a new dimension. After all, she is trying to be the first musician to perform in outer space. Let’s see what she comes up with next.

For more pop culture news, check out Iris’ blog: “I” Adores It!