The Lady Gaga portraits premiered at the Louvre Museum in October 2013 as part of Robert Wilson’s solo exhibition Living Rooms. Drawing inspiration from paintings in the Louvre’s collection, and from conversations with Lady Gaga regarding ideas about beauty, torture, sainthood, and perception, Wilson re-created portraits of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’s portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière (1806), Jacques-Louis David’s famed painting The Death of Marat (1806), and Andrea Solari’s The Head of Saint John the Baptist (1507). The last portrait of the series, Flying, was created as a counter-point to the other portraits. Under the supervision of Shibari master David Rickman, Lady Gaga underwent an hours-long Shibari performance. In the completed portrait, this performance is accompanied by Lady Gaga’s incantation of The Marquis de Sade’s Justine.

Performance: Lady Gaga

Concept and Direction: Robert Wilson

Music: Michael Galasso

Production: Dissident Industries, Inc., Lumen Arts

Installation View: The Villa Panza, 2016

Viewing Room Concept and Development: Owen Laub

With special thanks to:

Lumen Arts

Press:

Inquire