Lady Gaga's Warholian Transformation: Pop Star as Contemporary Art Virus
This article explores how Lady Gaga has drawn inspiration from the aesthetics of Andy Warhol, suggesting that her career reflects Warhol's before/after concept. In 2007, Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta and was born in 1986, came across Warhol's 1961 artwork "Before and After" at the Metropolitan Museum. This encounter resonated with her own struggles with pressure from Interscope Records to have rhinoplasty, which she ultimately rejected, reshaping her identity similarly to Warhol. In 2008, she founded the Haus of Gaga. Her albums "The Fame" (2008) and its 2009 reissue "The Fame Monster" showcase serialization, while the 2011 release "Born This Way" has been likened to Madonna's work. Notable visual elements include her meat dress and horn implants, and the piece concludes with a quote from Rilke, which she has tattooed on her arm, referencing Vanessa Grigoriadis's article from May 2010.
Key facts
- Lady Gaga encountered Warhol's 'Before and After' (1961) at the Metropolitan Museum in 2007.
- Interscope Records pressured Gaga to undergo rhinoplasty in 2007.
- Gaga kept her nose and adopted Warhol's philosophy of self-reinvention.
- Warhol shortened his name from Andrew Warhola to Andy Warhol.
- Gaga established Haus of Gaga in 2008, her own Factory collective.
- Albums 'The Fame' (2008) and 'The Fame Monster' (2009) exemplify serialization.
- Album 'Born This Way' released May 23, 2011 on Interscope Records.
- Gaga wore a meat dress by Jana Sterbak on Japanese Vogue cover and at 2010 MTV VMAs.
- Gaga performed on a Damien Hirst butterfly piano at Francesco Vezzoli's MOCA LA performance.
- Gaga's 'Born This Way' video features facial horn implants referencing Orlan.
- Gaga has a Rilke quote tattooed on her left arm.
- Article cites Vanessa Grigoriadis's May 2010 article 'How Lady Gaga Was Made.'
Entities
Artists
- Lady Gaga
- Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
- Andy Warhol
- Andrew Warhola
- Madonna
- Jana Sterbak
- Salvador Dalí
- Damien Hirst
- Francesco Vezzoli
- Orlan
- Rainer Maria Rilke
- Terry Richardson
- Vanessa Grigoriadis
- Luc Carl
- Britney Spears
Institutions
- Metropolitan Museum
- Interscope Records
- Haus of Gaga
- Tisch School of the Arts
- Regis High School
- MOCA Los Angeles
- Grand Palais
- Vogue Japan
- MTV Video Music Awards
Locations
- New York
- Los Angeles
- United States
Sources
- artpress —