Lady Gaga's artistic cred falls flat as she poses nude for Tony Bennett in Vanity Fair

Photo Credit: Annie Leibovitz

Once upon a time I harbored an intense distaste for Lady Gaga; however, my outlook towards Ms. Gaga has changed over time. I first heard mention of Lady Gaga when watching P. Diddy’s Making the Band. I usually reject most things that come out of MTV and I have no interest in P. Diddy or his ego. For whatever reasons I enjoyed this series (although I dropped off after season 1.).  My vague recollection is that Diddy headed off to a club where he set off to watch the newest big thing, Lady Gaga. I don’t remember much of the brief clip, but I do remember that I didn’t like what I heard and I didn’t understand how she could possibly be the next big thing.

I forgot about her until I heard the buzz her new followers. I couldn't understand what made her so special . I didn’t even know what she looked like; until one day as I was working out at the gym and  huffing and puffing on an elliptical, I saw her appear on the flat TV screen before me. She emerged from a pool and rose wearing a shattered mirror mask.  The only aspect of this video that I liked was the clash of a metallic looking substance against water. It was a mismatch that stood out.

When I first heard “Let’s Dance,” I thought it was bland. When I first heard, “Poker Face” I thought it was ridiculous. I simply didn’t understand the hoopla.  It wasn’t until Lady Gaga’s 2009 American Music Awards performance of Bad Romance and Speechless that I began to fall in love.   

Gaga wore a flesh toned costume (fit to her skin type. As we all know “"flesh tone" or nude” is not a one size fits all. Nude actually comes in different colors depending on skin color.) that came straight out of modern dance art. Much of the dance also seemed very much in keeping with modern dance.

It was then that I became truly aware of the artistic goals of Lady Gaga. I read up on her, I watched TV interviews in which she displayed her intelligence and her hunger for art. After that everything that Gaga created, sat well in my tummy. Well, almost.

I could do without a lot of the skin to the wind outfits.  In my book, her artistic nature does not give her a free pass to expose her body. One could argue that Lady Gaga is writing her own book, but revealing one’s body isn’t new.

In the latest edition of Vanity Fair, Lady Gaga exposes herself completely. She has posed nude in magazine publications in the past and  had always covered  various parts of her body with her hands. I am not fond of these images either. Here, in the January 2012 issue of Vanity Fair, the Gaga is completely naked.

Beauty…and anything else really, is in the eyes of the beholder.  And of course what we think of ourselves matters most. But being that Gaga’s art is meant to be seen, she obviously wants to convey something through her photos. 

Admittedly I am unaware as to what Gaga is trying to accomplish here. She is posing naked before Tony Bennett in his art studio. The two collaborated in their rendition of "Lady and the Tramp", and the song is featured on his latest album, Duets II. It really is a lovely track. 

I imagine many who set their eyes upon this photo, will think to themselves, “Wow.” Some may leave it at that and then move on and some may exclaim with their friends about how she is a bad ass and how everything she does is perfect. I suppose there are a myriad of other possible responses but I think that many who love this photo may not love it because it is anything special but simply because they love Lady Gaga . For some who are likely to obsess over a public figure; they go forth with the idea that the object of admiration can do no wrong. So, in the end, her genius is not because she is authentic, but simply because she is Lady Gaga. In my humble opinion that is disrespectful to the artist it insults our own intelligence.

When I saw the image, my first thought was, “Wow, I can’t believe she did that.” It wasn't a reaction of shock but  rather a response of disappointment. My second thought was, “This has been done.” My third thought was, “There is no art here.”

Perhaps the image signifies Gaga’s collaboration with Bennett. The two made art and here they are making art in a different fashion; In the more traditional understanding of what it is to create art. Drawing, painting, sculpting.

Gaga tells the Hollywood Reporter, “I walked in and said, ‘Well Tony, here we are’ and I dropped my robe and I got into position,” the singer explained. “I felt shy and thought, ‘It’s Tony Bennett, why am I naked?’ “

Yes, Gaga why ARE you naked?

In a sense Tony has bared all as well, as he poses without his trademark glasses. He is almost unrecognizable.

As an anti-porn feminist, I am never a fan of women voluntarily exploiting themselves. I do not shame Lady Gaga for her choices to strip down, but I find her willingness to expose herself in this way to be an artless perpetuation of patriarchy.

Gaga has enough talent and creativity and doesn’t need to pose nude in order to gain our approval. Perhaps the chick just likes taking her clothes off. It comes off as narcissistic and vain rather than an act of depth and daring.

I don’t know if Gaga considers herself to be a provocateur but her attempts to challenge us fall short with this endeavor. She is not alluring but rather, blatantly attempting to be so, which leaves her nudity worthless.

I am still a fan of one Miss Lady Gaga and I don’t expect that admiration to dissipate any time soon.  We can’t expect to have no qualms with everything that is birthed from an artist and I think it is essential that we leave ourselves open to critique. We challenge ourselves when we think without influence from the public figures we admire and the fans that surround us -- and THAT is something that Lady Gaga (or any other artist) cannot give us.