French artist ORLAN sues Gaga for plagiarism?

[elijahfan 24,869]

French artist ORLAN, well-known for using her body as a tool for her art, sues Gaga for plagiarism, saying the singer has counterfeited 3 of her works through her Born This Way era, and especially in her Born This Way video.

 

The works that are being talked about here are "Bumpload", a sculpture representing ORLAN as a sort of bionic hybrid, that is, according to the artist, what inspired the BTW album cover.

 

 

The 2nd work is the 1996 installation "Woman with head", that has apparently been "copied" by Gaga through one of the BTW video sequences.

 

 

Finally, ORLAN pretends Gaga simply stole her life, her universe, and especially the face implants that the artist has infamously got through a surgery-performance in the 90s.

 

 

ORLAN asks for 7% of the BTW proceeds, which represents $31.5 million. She also wants the BTW video to be banned from television networks, and stop the commercialisation of the BTW album.

 

 

Saying that I'm disappointed with this is an understatement: I've known Gaga's interest in ORLAN for a long time, and I've always admired ORLAN's artistry and way of thinking, very close to Gaga's BTW message indeed (the fact you weren't born once, that you can go through multiple rebirths through your life). They also share a fascination for hybridation. Many times at the university, I've talked about Gaga and ORLAN in essays, talking about "carnal art" and identity.... and I feel profoundly shocked by this news.

 

One could say: why wait all this time to sue  BTW? Apparently, ORLAN wasn't aware of all this until quite recently. But that surprises me, as ORLAN was actually aware of Gaga's interest in her since at least 2010... Indeed, Alexandra Boucherifi, who organized the first ever Gaga exhibition in Paris back in 2010, asked for ORLAN works to be included at the exhibition, and ORLAN agreed. This photograph was on display at the exhibition, having apparently inspired the Alejandro video imagery:

 

 

So, What do you think about all this? Do you think ORLAN's prejudice is genuine?

 

EDIT: here is an interesting extract from an interview Gaga gave to NME Magazine back in 2011:

 

NME wonders - thinking of the other homages she says she signposts so clearly, like the Ziggy-esque flash across her face when she first appeared in 2008 - if Gaga has heard of Orlan, the French artist whose permanent, surgically implanted facial modifications are very similar to Gaga's 'Born This Way' look. "Who's Orlan?" Gaga asks, grabbing her MacBook. "Do people think that's where I got it from?"

After the debacle earlier, NME decides to let Google do the talking. Gaga hits the search button. "Oh my gosh. (Gasps) What is that? It's quite beautiful. That's weird! (Thinks) It's very fabulous. Well, i'm going to be inspired by her now, thank you!"

If Gaga had been influenced by Orlan, as some do claim, this is a very good performance but, as Gaga later says, her whole life's a performance. There are too many layers of bluff and double bluff to consider, but to NME's eyes she seems genuinely - and fascinated - by the existence of Orlan.

 

 

Oh, and for the record... ORLAN gave a piece of her cheek to Madonna on a French TV show a few years ago. Yes, you read well 

 

Source: http://next.liberation.fr/arts/2013/06/13/orlan-assigne-lady-gaga-en-justice-pour-contrefacon_910598

[PopReaper 2,223]

"She also wants the BTW video to be banned from television networks, and stop the commercialisation of the BTW album."

 

[Bambino 24,058]

Can I sue her for copying Cruella?

 

[Nolan 1]

Has this person been living under a rock until now? Accusing everything about the Born This Way era for plagiarism was so 2011  

[Runway 27,876]

The implants were inspired by McQueen

bye

[Quran 179]

I don't see any similarities in the BTW cover and that other picture.

The BTW video scene is more inspired by Madonna than Orlan and the horns are a homage to McQueen.

Bull****.

[KarmaPolice 4,731]

I don't see any similarities, and the face implants were from McQueen, so...

[iAstroLeo 14,233]

...

[PopReaper 2,223]

The bionic statue of her has no similarities to the BTW cover (visually) and the Alejandro one, well, unless she created nuns I don't think Gaga copied her...

 

[MetalHausOfJosh 0]

Keep trying b---h :lmao:

[Nervous Unicorn 440]

I think they're reading way too much into it. The only similarity in the cover is that it's a hybrid. LG isn't glowing, or made out of plastic. She's a ****ing motorcycle. The head thing has been used visually in many movies. Return to Oz, for example. The witch/queen takes heads off of pedestals and puts them on her own body.

 

 

 

And the face implants? That's McQueen. 

 

As much as I love BTW and the era, I'm tired of hearing about it. 

[elijahfan 24,869]

The bionic statue of her has no similarities to the BTW cover (visually) and the Alejandro one, well, unless she created nuns I don't think Gaga copied her...

 

 

Careful, she isn't suing Gaga for Alejandro, but for BTW - I only put the nun photograph because it was shown at a Gaga exhibition back in 2010, that's all. Just to show the links between Gaga and ORLAN are actually not new.

[kennji 546]

i think someone needs pocket money.

[Doogi 1,315]

When will these basics learn that you can't beat The Queen in a legal battle. She WILL beat you. And she WILL embarrass you. Sit down somewhere "ORLAN" :nails:

[The Plague 0]

Looks like we have another mess on our hands.