Lady Gaga “ARTPOP” Album Art
ARTPOP is the fourth album by New York based singer-songwriter Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga. The cover art, shot and designed by artist Jeff Koons, embraces the idea of human transcendence, change and liberation.
The album came at time when change was happening at an extremely rapid pace as humankind headed into the 2010's. Gay marriage laws had been passed, women became top presidential candidates, and the internet had it's 30th birthday. The latter best seen in the smartphone app that accompanied the album, a first for the industry.
A sculpture of Gaga sits stoic with legs open representing the roman goddess Venus, also the title of the 2nd track. Gaga writes as woman with agency over her own body challenging anyone who might disagree. Apollo, the god of music, is also pictured in the background. In between her legs lays a gazing ball, representing endless possibilities, a common theme in Koon's work. The title text is fractured and warped, helping blend the representations of the past, present, and possibilities for the future.
Citations:
Rosa, Alfred F. “Charles Ives: Music, Transcendentalism, and Politics.” The New England Quarterly 44, no. 3 (1971): 433–43. https://doi.org/10.2307/364784.
Ehrlich, Brenna. “Lady Gaga’s ‘artpop’ Cover: Artist Jeff Koons Explains What It All Means.” MTV, November 6, 2013. https://www.mtv.com/news/wktct5/lady-gaga-artpop-album-art-jeff-koons.
Hirshman, Linda. Victory : The Triumphant Gay Revolution. First Harper Perennial edition. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2013.
Dennard, Robert H. “Creativity in the 2000s and Beyond.” Research Technology Management 43, no. 6 (2000): 23–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24133422.
