I got into an argument the other day with three friends. One, the lone female, was raving about Lady Gaga's recent concert whilst the two other males of the group were deriding Gaga. I stepped in and informed the three that I enjoyed some of Gaga's music, which brought about more derision, this time in my direction. The female of the group was emboldened by my support, and decided to fill us in on the performance aspect of the concert, at which point she uttered the words 'performance art'.
This stood out to me because it is so rare in popular music that the words performance art are employed to describe the musicians performance. By the definitions of the phrase, the words were true. She was an artist giving a performance, connecting with her audience. We can narrow the perception of performance art and say that it's usually avant-garde or conceptual, but surely this also describes Gaga's work on stage (and the real world, judging by photo's).
If you look at the history of pop music and performance art, you can see the permutations of the genre, blurring the lines between art, shock tactics and self-promotion (usually for fame or financial gain).
Alice Cooper shocked audiences in the 70's, but rather than pulling stunts for cheap thrills, Cooper used Comedy and a vaudevillian sensibility to get his points across. David Byrne has spent the last thirty years defining his career through an intimidating array of art experiments via the mediums of conceptual art and popular music.
Cyndi Lauper is often mentioned in conversations about Gaga, although Madonna may be a more appropriate contemporary. Lauper loved art and fashion, and her iconic sense of style (borne out of the thrift shop where she worked) has infused many modern artists seeking to interpolate the influences of 80's new wave culture. However, Madonna was the first of the female pop artists to use her live show as an artistic statement, assuming you believe the 'conical bra' as an piece of art.
Fischerspooner are another act that springs to mind when speaking on Gaga. They were a group of dancers, musicians and theatre performers that began as an 'experimental art piece about entertainment' and grew into a legitimate piece of entertainment themselves.
So where is the line drawn? Gaga has numerous stage props, raunchy dancers and a wardrobe full of designer clothing. Does this a performance artist make? I'm tempted to say no, but I've no evidence to back my claims. So then the idea shifts? What is not performance art? Is it not Miley Cyrus and her 'Hannah Montana' persona? Is it not Spinal Taps inflatable stonehenge?
I would call all of it performance art. So why then haven't the artists themselves mentioned this, or critics, or fans? Because most people don't think of pop music or pop music performance as 'performance art'. Most people think of it as that generic, commercial genre that blasts from every popular FM radio station in town. So then, is Gaga performance art by virtue of being an alternative to the current pop culture?
This of course, is very subjective, and brings into question the idea of what's alternative. Is it a debut album by an artist or group that gets a good review on pitchfork? Is it Kanye West and his wildly broad palette of expression?
It seems as though performance art is being used as a term to push the idea of Gaga as an alternative. As we can see, her fashion sense is not all that different from Kanye West or Bjork or even Jared Leto. Her music isn't all that different from Beyonce, Fever Ray or Bat for Lashes. Her performances aren't all that removed from any artist with expensive stage props (U2 anyone?).
However, the words 'performance art', differentiate her from her peers. Not many other acts describe themselves this way. Why not? Does it harken back to the old phrase 'If you have to tell people you're cool, then you're not cool'?
I'll leave it up to you.
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