VF:I feel more like a missionary, rather than a pop star

[NewYorkCity 10,536]

Amazing interview. I love when she is so honest. What's she is doing is so important and revolutionary. Talking about the industry like that...

[mattbri 1,369]

Sad ... but look what a masterpiece she has created! 

[DSK 611]

5 hours ago, QueenMedusa said:

I love how open she always is. 

I do, however, disagree with her creative approach. I think an artist should never think of their own work like "a mission" who serves a higher purpose. 

The creative process is always a selfish journey, it is always about yourself: about your struggles, your bonds, your story. 

When you start trying to channel others' struggles through your work, it usually results in disgenuine pieces. And that is my main issue with Joanne: I think she wrote many of the songs for other people, to tell their struggle,  who isn't her own, which ultimately resulted in said tracks not feeling honest. 

I do believe her intentions are noble, so I respect her decision. But it is not an artist's job to "provide a voice" to tell others' stories. It should always be your story, because when is not, it feels dishonest, and the final piece is affected by it. Art is a construction but should be always rooted in truth. 

I do respect, and appreciate what she tried to do with Joanne anyways, and I know how important this project is for her, so I wish her nothing but success with this era. 

Hope she feels better now too  

Thank you for this. As a poetry writer I can deeply relate.

[crisTEAne 21,059]

8 hours ago, QueenMedusa said:

I love how open she always is. 

I do, however, disagree with her creative approach. I think an artist should never think of their own work like "a mission" who serves a higher purpose. 

The creative process is always a selfish journey, it is always about yourself: about your struggles, your bonds, your story. 

When you start trying to channel others' struggles through your work, it usually results in disgenuine pieces. And that is my main issue with Joanne: I think she wrote many of the songs for other people, to tell their struggle,  who isn't her own, which ultimately resulted in said tracks not feeling honest. 

I do believe her intentions are noble, so I respect her decision. But it is not an artist's job to "provide a voice" to tell others' stories. It should always be your story, because when is not, it feels dishonest, and the final piece is affected by it. Art is a construction but should be always rooted in truth. 

I do respect, and appreciate what she tried to do with Joanne anyways, and I know how important this project is for her, so I wish her nothing but success with this era. 

Hope she feels better now too  

i disagree with everything. critical theory tells us that the very first step of interpreting a work of art is to differentiate between the artist and the artistic voice that echoes through their work. in case of a poem, the poet is not the speaker or the lyric i. the subject matter can, of course, be of autobiographical nature; however, separating the two entities from one another is essential to preserve the integrity and the interpretative possibilities of the work.

if follows that the creative process can very well be a process that is not about the artist per se but about the voice, or voices, channeled through the work. these are the very foundations that make it possible for works to be of universal/classical quality. joanne is an album that is full of themes and motifs to which many people can relate: it is universal. however, that doesn't mean that it lacks authenticity. the two are by no means mutually exclusive: you can write about and to people by filtering your own experiences through your artistic prism. 

remember the MTN monologue? that explains that not only art but the concept of truth is also a social construct. reality/truth, in that (postmodern/metamodern) sense, is not what objectivity happens but what a person subjectively feels when experiencing a particular moment. 

[Katie14 4,828]

Someone posted this on Popjustice. Its old but nice to hear with a new perspective. I think its interesting how he talks so highly of her and about how heartbreaking their split was. Meanwhile, according to Gaga, he was the cause of intense trauma that she experienced. She talks about him as if he was an abusive lover. I would love to hear the full story but we probably never will. I don't even think they are legally allowed to discuss it. 

 

[OliviaRodrigoStan 6,713]

7 hours ago, T E Anne said:

i disagree with everything. critical theory tells us that the very first step of interpreting a work of art is to differentiate between the artist and the artistic voice that echoes through their work. in case of a poem, the poet is not the speaker or the lyric i. the subject matter can, of course, be of autobiographical nature; however, separating the two entities from one another is essential to preserve the integrity and the interpretative possibilities of the work.

if follows that the creative process can very well be a process that is not about the artist per se but about the voice, or voices, channeled through the work. these are the very foundations that make it possible for works to be of universal/classical quality. joanne is an album that is full of themes and motifs to which many people can relate: it is universal. however, that doesn't mean that it lacks authenticity. the two are by no means mutually exclusive: you can write about and to people by filtering your own experiences through your artistic prism. 

remember the MTN monologue? that explains that not only art but the concept of truth is also a social construct. reality/truth, in that (postmodern/metamodern) sense, is not what objectivity happens but what a person subjectively feels when experiencing a particular moment. 

I do not mean to sound arrogant, but I am an actual artist, and I have studied Art, I know how the creative process works. 

When you create to serve a purpose other than the mere expression of your thoughts, ideas, feelings and sensations, you become an artisan,  not an artist. And the works you create are deprived of truth as a consequence. 

You cannot write about Love, if you haven't loved,  and you can't write about a pain that isn't yours. 

Well, you can, but it won't feel real, because it won't be. Art isn't a service, is a poetic expression of your own vision. 

And I'm sorry, but yes, I do believe several tracks in Joanne lack authenticity. 

Not because she's dishonest as an artist, but because of the way she chose to portray those concepts. 

I think "Joanne", "Million Reasons", "Grigio Girls" and "Perfect Illusion" are honest songs, because they're hers, it's her story. The rest are good songs, well executed and performed, but were written "in character" IMO, and it shows. 

I think many of the songs were written "for" something/someone, and that's when the creative process is negatively affected. 

In any case, I am not interested in debating this at all. Like I previously said, I do understand her motives, and I ultimately respect her artistic decision, regardless of my personal disagreement with the conceptual approach she chose for this album. 

[Katie14 4,828]

24 minutes ago, QueenMedusa said:

I do not mean to sound arrogant, but I am an actual artist, and I have studied Art, I know how the creative process works. 

When you create to serve a purpose other than the mere expression of your thoughts, ideas, feelings and sensations, you become an artisan,  not an artist. And the works you create are deprived of truth as a consequence. 

You cannot write about Love, if you haven't loved,  and you can't write about a pain that isn't yours. 

Well, you can, but it won't feel real, because it won't be. Art isn't a service, is a poetic expression of your own vision. 

And I'm sorry, but yes, I do believe several tracks in Joanne lack authenticity. 

Not because she's dishonest as an artist, but because of the way she chose to portray those concepts. 

I think "Joanne", "Million Reasons", "Grigio Girls" and "Perfect Illusion" are honest songs, because they're hers, it's her story. The rest are good songs, well executed and performed, but were written "in character" IMO, and it shows. 

I think many of the songs were written "for" something/someone, and that's when the creative process is negatively affected. 

In any case, I am not interested in debating this at all. Like I previously said, I do understand her motives, and I ultimately respect her artistic decision, regardless of my personal disagreement with the conceptual approach she chose for this album. 

Why do you think that certain songs are inauthentic? How could you possibly know what she truly feels and believes? Im not trying to attack you, im honestly curious about this because there were a few critics who mentioned this lack of authenticity as well. 

[OliviaRodrigoStan 6,713]

4 hours ago, Katie14 said:

Why do you think that certain songs are inauthentic? How could you possibly know what she truly feels and believes? Im not trying to attack you, im honestly curious about this because there were a few critics who mentioned this lack of authenticity as well. 

Is just something that you can feel. 

I do not mean it in the same way her detractors suggest, however. Her critics usually claim she is fake, which I do not believe (not per sé, and not in the same way they claim it). 

I do think, anyways, that she... self-imposed certain subjects on Joanne, because she believes it is the right thing to do, which do not necessarily reflect who she is, or what she's been through, but explore other's struggles and/or perspectives. 

She has a well defined personality, it is not hard for me to tell when her work reflect what's part of her, and when it does not. 

I think she wrote many songs on Joanne for others to relate, because she believes her art and gift is meant to be of service, and serve a higher cause. 

I think she wanted to reach out those whose' reality differ from hers with Joanne, so she adapted her songwriting to fit said premise. 

The thing is: when you "adapt" in order to fit a certain criteria that's far from your personal traits, you lose authenticity in the process. 

Many artists try to adapt in order to gain commercial success. She adapted for different, more noble reasons. But her art was equally compromised neverthless, in my opinion. What I mean is: if you fake it for money, or if you fake it for a good cause... you're still faking it in both cases. And your work will be affected by it. 

But like I previously said, it is her personal decision as an artist, and I respect it. 

And although I personally can't connect with most of Joanne for the above mentioned reasons, I do enjoy and find truth in many songs from the album. 

In any case (and to stay on topic), I think it was a very honest interview, and I do appreciate how open she is about her intentions when she discusses her work. 

[Katie14 4,828]

30 minutes ago, QueenMedusa said:

Is just something that you can feel. 

I do not mean it in the same way her detractors suggest, however. Her critics usually claim she is fake, which I do not believe (not per sé, and not in the same way they claim it). 

I do think, anyways, that she... self-imposed certain subjects on Joanne, because she believes it is the right thing to do, which do not necessarily reflect who she is, or what she's been through, but explore other's struggles and/or perspectives. 

She has a well defined personality, it is not hard for me to tell when her work reflect what's part of her, and when it does not. 

I think she wrote many songs on Joanne for others to relate, because she believes her art and gift is meant to be of service, and serve a higher cause. 

I think she wanted to reach out those whose' reality differ from hers with Joanne, so she adapted her songwriting to fit said premise. 

The thing is: when you "adapt" in order to fit a certain criteria that's far from your personal traits, you lose authenticity in the process. 

Many artists try to adapt in order to gain commercial success. She adapted for different, more noble reasons. But her art was equally compromised neverthless, in my opinion. What I mean is: if you fake it for money, or if you fake it for a good cause... you're still faking it in both cases. And your work will be affected by it. 

But like I previously said, it is her personal decision as an artist, and I respect it. 

And although I personally can't connect with most of Joanne for the above mentioned reasons, I do enjoy and find truth in many songs from the album. 

In any case (and to stay on topic), I think it was a very honest interview, and I do appreciate how open she is about her intentions when she discusses her work. 

I do sort of see where you are coming from and I think this is an interesting conversation to have. Like in "Angel Down" for example, she is discussing essentially the black lives matter movement. She can't relate to this directly as she isn't a black person, (although she can still relate to the feeling of being abused and targeted). I see this song as a social commentary. Its how she perceives and analyzes the terrible things that are going on in society. She says, "Angel down but the people just stood around" She is talking about what she is seeing literally or figuratively. She is talking about how she feels as a person looking in and witnessing the madness. She isn't talking about how she feels as a victim. I don't see how that is inauthentic. 

You said it isn't authentic if you write about love if you never loved or pain you never experienced. But, you can be authentic and write about how you think that love or pain feels, basically your experience as an observer. 

 

[OliviaRodrigoStan 6,713]

11 minutes ago, Katie14 said:

I do sort of see where you are coming from and I think this is an interesting conversation to have. Like in "Angel Down" for example, she is discussing essentially the black lives matter movement. She can't relate to this directly as she isn't a black person, (although she can still relate to the feeling of being abused and targeted). I see this song as a social commentary. Its how she perceives and analyzes the terrible things that are going on in society. She says, "Angel down but the people just stood around" She is talking about what she is seeing literally or figuratively. She is talking about how she feels as a person looking in and witnessing the madness. She isn't talking about how she feels as a victim. I don't see how that is inauthentic. 

 

That is precisely the song that resonates the most to me, in fact. 

I think she wrote it because, as a human being, and a figure of relevance, she thinks it is important for her to say something about this issue, to voice her support and discontent. 

Which I agree with, I just don't necessarily think she has to make a song about it. "Angel Down" to me, feels... like she wrote it "for" a very specific purpose,  and like I said, to me, art serves no purpose. It is not your job to make songs for other people to relate or find solace. 

You write what you feel. And if it is honest, others will relate and will feel touched by it, you don't have to deliberately adapt. 

And I think "Angel Down" "serves a purpose", it was written "for a reason", to serve a very specific cause. 

A cause I support myself, so I once again say that I do understand her reasons,  and I do respect her ways. 

I just disagree with the idea of creating Art "for/to", conceptually wise, that's it. 

[Katie14 4,828]

4 minutes ago, QueenMedusa said:

That is precisely the song that resonates the most to me, in fact. 

I think she wrote it because, as a human being, and a figure of relevance, she thinks it is important for her to say something about this issue, to voice her support and discontent. 

Which I agree with, I just don't necessarily think she has to make a song about it. "Angel Down" to me, feels... like she wrote it "for" a very specific purpose,  and like I said, to me, art serves no purpose. It is not your job to make songs for other people to relate or find solace. 

You write what you feel. And if it is honest, others will relate and will feel touched by it, you don't have to deliberately adapt. 

And I think "Angel Down" "serves a purpose", it was written "for a reason", to serve a very specific cause. 

A cause I support myself, so I once again say that I do understand her reasons,  and I do respect her ways. 

I just disagree with the idea of creating Art "for/to", conceptually wise, that's it. 

I think it can be both though. She is writing about how she feels about what she is seeing going on in the world. The song serves a purpose at the same time.