There are some artists and writers that walk close to the edge in their work and come close to falling off. Lady Gaga and E.L. James (50 Shades) are two of them. I always try to look past the obvious with artists of this caliber. My view on 50 Shades is in my earlier post Christian Grey – Today’s The Day .
Today I watched Lady G’s comeback on Good Morning America. She arrived in a convertible with a gorgeous short blonde haircut, very little make-up, simple white rockstarish outfit – a very understated look compared to the “meat dress”. She gave her interview sitting on a space-age chair she crafted to always show her fans she’s ever evolving and changing, which is the theme of the new video. The song Applause and the painted face stand for the “court jester” who is always after the applause. She, like him, is always after the applause, but “not for the attention”, she states in her interview, but the applause mean her fans like her work and she’s making them happy – and that’s her goal – to please her fans.
Lady G has been laid up and out of the limelight for months due to a broken hip and extensive, rigorous rehab. It was during that time that she wrote new music and crafted the video that launches her comeback. The video is very much what you would expect from this artist. It moves quickly, showcasing her own brand of pop-art. There are parts that cause us to pause – she constantly finds new ways to cover the significant body parts, and the Applause video is no exception. It is here I part ways with the naysayers over her excessive ways.
Through her boldness she communicates an energy that just says “go out there and create your life”. Over the last four years her music has helped jump-start me when I turned down the “maybe I can’t do this” road. The edginess of her videos remind me that, I, too, have an edge and they encourage me to go hang out there. Many times I’ve used the quote “Life begins on the edge of your comfort zone”. To me, Lady Gaga represents that. She dares us to dip our toe outside of the boxes we live in, into that vast unknown. For her, it’s covering body parts with hands and flowers and putting her head on a bird body. In some way that inspires me to write and illustrate those books, travel and teach those young author classes, go to Bikram yoga and embrace difficult things – go out there and not only experience things I never have before, but take that extra step and create them.
If she inspires me – clearly NOT a little monster – she must inspire our young people to be themselves and turn their dreams into a reality. Should we be afraid of our children imitating her? No, I don’t think so. She clearly communicates she’s about individuality, not imitation. She encourages all of us, little monsters or big, to look around find what moves and inspires us.
Yes, the video is edgy and pushes lots of limits, but wouldn’t life be boring if we never ventured to our own edge and pushed a limit or two? My husband went to The Cape Cod Art Bar and painted a bridge. It’s his equivalent to a “meat dress”. We all own a “meat dress” and Lady G just encourages us to drag it out and get our asses to the ball.
And so, as another day goes by, kudos to Lady G for a great comeback, I’m looking forward to all the new music yet to come, and…I have written.
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