Gaga Goes for More Art Than Pop Than You Realize
She commands you to just dance, she’s caught in a bad romance, she was born this way—most recently, she lives for the applause. Gaga’s latest album “Artpop” is a departure from her previous chart–topping releases in many ways, one of which is the heavy referencing and influence of the art world in Gaga’s work as a musician. It is easy to point to parts of Gaga’s work that have been inspired by art up to this point, from her Warhol–inspired yellow hair in the “Telephone” video to her religiously inspired songs and music videos like “Judas” and “Alejandro.” While the lyrics amount to little more than a string of incoherent words, her song “Schieße” is in German, one of the traditional academic languages of art history. However, in “Artpop,” Gaga has incorporated the art world on a much more sophisticated level, transforming her into a performance artist.