Lady Gaga Announces ARTPOP Collaborations With Jeff Koons, Marina Abramovic, Inez & Vinoodh, and Robert Wilson

She's promising a "reverse Warholian expedition."

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Lady Gaga has been quiet for most of 2013. Her most recent public appearance post-hip surgery was to give a speech and sing the National Anthem at a pride rally in New York City on June 28. Last night, despite a note presently in her Twitter bio that her account "has been shut down temporarily," Gaga supposedly had a private listening dinner party and announced an August 19 single release, September 1 album/app pre-order, and November 11 album/app release for her new, long-awaited album, ARTPOP.

Her album/app promises to be "a musical and visual engineering system that combines music, art, fashion, and technology with a new interactive worldwide community—'the auras.'" Described as "a reverse Warholian expedition" (in contrast to the Candy Warhol visual from her Fame Monster tour?), the project also promises to "bring the music industry into a new age; an age where art drives pop, and the artist once again is in control of the 'icon.'"

The end of the announcement says that on November 10, Gaga will host "an evening of artRave exhibiting Haus of Gaga's projects as well as collaborations with Inez & Vinoodh, Robert Wilson, Marina Abramovic, and Jeff Koons." Yes, you read that correctly—collaborations with four of the biggest names in art for her upcoming project.

Could these collaborations be anything like the one Jay-Z did with Marina Abramovic yesterday at Pace Gallery in New York? Could the app be anything like Björk's Biophilia app from October 2011, corresponding with the release of her album at the time? Perhaps, but regardless, Gaga has repeatedly stated that she's an artist first and previously collaborated with visual artists like Nick Knight, Steven Klein, and Terence Koh. Photography duo Inez & Vinoodh also directed her "Yoü And I" series of fashion films and photographed her for V magazine.

While we are looking forward to whatever Lady Gaga has in store individually or collectively with these artists, we are also welcoming a moment where musicians are placing their work in the realm of performance art. For both Jay-Z and Gaga, much remains to be seen, but what we do know is that the next few months will be full of art, pop, performance, and big collaborations between the art and music worlds. 

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