Lady Gaga loves Marina Abramovic. “I am
obsessed by this woman she is so incredible.” No big surprise then that the latest Gaga vehicle looks to the Conceptual One for inspiration. The original idea was to make a homage to Abramovic’s 1988 performance piece
The Lovers – The Great Wall Walk. That’s the one where she walks from one end of the Great Wall of China as her long time collaborator Uwe Laysiepen (known as Ulay) walks toward her from the other. “That walk became a complete personal drama. He started from the Gobi desert and I from the Yellow Sea. After each of us walked 2,500 km, we met in the middle and said good-bye.”
Too hard-core for the Gaga who turned Abramovic’s masochistic trance-like journey into a fetishistic wet dream, all bruised feet and bondage gear. You can see the Gaga version
Yoü and I here and listen to Abramovic talking about her China experience
here. Then, if you go to
Leg of lamb, you'll find more interesting links on Gaga copycatting art.
Images: top two, stills from Lady Gagga’s music video Yoü and I and bottom two Marina Abramovic and Ulay’s 1988 performance The Lovers – The Great Wall Walk
