Is Lady Gaga a professional or an amateur?

[AbuHassan1992 766]

Before you read on, understand that the author is not talking about amateurs and professionals in the traditional sense, where professionals mean people who get paid for their work and acts "professionaly", or amateur as in a begnner, someone who isn't as good at their craft as a professional. We all know Lady Gaga is a trained pianist and gets paid for what she does, but that hasn't anything to do with what we're gonna discuss. here, those terms mean something different. It describes how artists approach their work, the creation of it and eveything surrounding it. The word "amateur" means "lover of", by the way.

Alright, let's go.

My professors have recomended we all read a book by Steven Pressfield called "The war of Art". If you want to know more about, you can look it up on wikipedia.

"Within it, Pressfield highlights the different forms of Resistance faced by artists, entrepreneurs, athletes, and others, who are trying to break through its barriers"

I've read it twice since I got it last week, and it's really good. However, it also made me think of Lady Gaga, and wether she is a "professional" or an "amateur". After thinking about it, I feel like she is somewhere in between. Some aspects of her work and how she talks about it and presents it clearly coincides with Pressfield's idea of a "professional", while other aspects coincide with the "amateur".

I've written out some extracts from it, tell me what you think of it in relation to Lady Gaga.

"A pro views her work as craft, not art. Not becaue she believes art is devoid of a mystical dimension. On the contrary. She understands that all creative endeavor is holy, but she doesn’t dwell on it. She knows if she thinks about that too much, it will paralyze her. So she concentrates on technique. The professional masters how, and leaves what and why to the gods. Like Somerset Maugham she doesn’t wait for inspiration, she acts in the anticipation of its apparition. The pofessional is acutely aware of the intangibles that go into inspiration. Out of respect for them, she lets them work. She grants them their sphere while she concentrates on hers. The sign of the Amateur is overglorification of and preoccupation with the mystery. The professional shuts  up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work."

 

A professional reinvents himself.

"Gole Hawn once observed that there re only three ages for an actress in Hollywood: «Babe, D.A., and Driving Miss daisy.» She was makng a different point, but the truth remains: As artists we serve the Muse, and the Muse may have more than one job for us over our lifetime. The professional does not permit himself to become hidebound within one incarnation, however comfortable or successful. Like a transmigrating soul, he shucks his outworn body and dons a new one. He continues his journey."

A Professional Distances herself from her instrument.

"The pro stands at one remove from her insturment- meaning her person, her body, her voice, her talent, the physical, mental, emotional, and psychological being she uses in her work. She does not identify with this instrument. It is simply what God gave her, what she has to work with. She assesses it coolly, impersonally, objectively. The professional identifies with her consciousness and her will, not with the matter that her consciousness and will manipulate to serve her art. Does Madonna walk around the house in cone bras and come-****-me bustiers? She’s too busy planning D-Day. Madonna does not identify with «Madonna.» Madonna employs "Madonna".

 

what do you make of all this? I think it's an interesting concept and it would be great if we could discuss this maturely and try to see it from different angles.

[YCHofficial 5,293]

Just Gaga

[healme 83]

This is a very interesting topic! From what you've reproduced here, I definitely think you're right that Gaga is a hybrid - I think she has massive respect for the art of what she does, and she pours her soul into her lyrics and visuals, but at the same time she knows she has to work to refine her craft and steps into lots of different personas as she does so.

[AbuHassan1992 766]

Would you guys say she has an amateur-ish approach to her work because she does it out of the love for it, and not the money?

[Haroon 49,685]

I definitely see some similarities with the "amateur" part, mainly that she seems to sometimes dwell on her work and think about it too much, as well as talking about it a lot and seeing it as art rather than craft  I also see distinct similarities with the "professional" part from the extract about reinvention! We've all seen Gaga reinvent herself and make changes and continue on. This is really interesting actually, and I wish there were more extracts for me to read to see where I think I find Gaga in it  

I totally agree with you that she fits into both and is in between (from the amount I've read in your OP)  

[Gypsy Life 118,907]

A phlop. 

[Pure Adrenaline 1,518]

So Gaga is Pro in a way that she reinvents herself constantly but is also amateur because she thinks about her work as an art .... at least that's what I'm getting from this  

 

yeah I see her too to be somewhat in btw these 2 

[AbuHassan1992 766]

I definitely see some similarities with the "amateur" part, mainly that she seems to sometimes dwell on her work and think about it too much, as well as talking about it a lot and seeing it as art rather than craft  I also see distinct similarities with the "professional" part from the extract about reinvention! We've all seen Gaga reinvent herself and make changes and continue on. This is really interesting actually, and I wish there were more extracts for me to read to see where I think I find Gaga in it  

I totally agree with you that she fits into both and is in between (from the amount I've read in your OP)  

​It's a great read. It's only 160 pages but most of them are only half a page of text, and it's $10 dollars. It's great for anyone no matter if they wanna make art, learn a trade, get an educatiom, whatever it is that you're doing

[Bloody 64,631]

Where did my post go?  

[Haroon 49,685]

​It's a great read. It's only 160 pages but most of them are only half a page of texts, and it's $10 dollars. It's great for anyone no matter if they wanna make art, learn a trade, get an educatiom, whatever it is that you're doing

​I'll note it down and make sure to check it out after I'm done reading through my course texts  Thanks for this by the way  

[Weasel 12,525]

Would you guys say she has an amateur-ish approach to her work because she does it out of the love for it, and not the money?

​One does not simply sign a record deal with Interscope and buy a 23 million dollar house when they're not in it for the money  

[Mast 980]

Amateur, most definitely. 

 She (the professional) understands that all creative endeavor is holy, but she doesn't dwell on it. She knows if she thinks about that too much, it will paralyze her. So she concentrates on technique.

This is what Gaga needs to work on the most.

[420 1,042]

She's an amateur professional tbh. 

[Tropico 4,145]

According to his definition, Gaga is an amateur. She is so caught up in it all and really just feels it's art and more than just craft. I love that about her. She's passionate. 

 

But I think according to the way I view it, she's a pro. In the sense that she is on top of her game and always performs to the best of her ability. 

[xoxo cupcakke 4,781]

I feel she's a professional at heart but the problem is that her artistic and creative freedoms are hindered by her label because, at the end of the day, Gaga was created as a spokesperson to sell a product: her music. In a way, she's made to speak about her art and her music to sell and she deeply enjoys the art of music and pop art, but she's not allowed to freely express her professionalism which makes her an amateur in a way but I feel Gaga knows what she's doing. It's just people telling her ways in which to limit her ambitions and creativity to make them more palatable that is causing her to be an amateur