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Wednesday, September 09, 2020
Lady Gaga's VMAs performance is part of a long international tradition of performing with masks
theconversation.com: Before a bruise-coloured backdrop, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande performed a medley of Chromatica II and Rain on Me at MTV’s recent Video Music Awards (VMAs). Gyrating in purple and black, the singers’ costumes were distinctive for including face masks.
8 comments:
Elizabeth P
said...
My roommates and I watched the VMA’s live because some our favorite artists were performing (like Lady Gaga, BTS, Miley Cyrus) and although we anticipated the social distancing of performers and crew - we were still surprised to see Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande (as well as all o f their backup dancers) wearing masks during their set. Gaga also managed to sport a different color mask for every award she received. While I commend her for setting an example about how we need to wear masks, I didn’t even make the connection that masks on stage are actually not that uncommon. In recent years, you have shows like the Masked Singer, but you also have groups like the Jabbawockeez - who are identifiable by their all white face masks. As the article also mentioned, art forms like noh have been around forever, allowing performers to physically become their onstage persona. Gaga’s mask added to her performance - it felt a little cyberpunk and a little bit Mad Max, and it would have been interesting to see how other musical artists chose to interpret their mask wearing into their acts.
Masked performances have predated time. Wearing masks for performance can help both you and the audience be immersed in the character you are portraying and the world you are in. In Gaga’s case, it helped exemplify her facial expressions to a whole new level. I felt as if you were combining a real-life person with a animation character’s mouth. Most of the background dancers had masks that complimented their outfits, but Grande’s did neither compliment nor enhance. I think Grande’s was more of a statement to wear a mask as opposed to Gaga and the dancers were trying to show the world how masks can enhance our culture.
This is actually a really interesting article that brings up some good points that I had not thought of before. People have been telling me how hard it would be for musicals to be performed by masked singers, but this is clear evidence that that is just wrong. There are always ways around things like this, and masks have been used by singers for so long now. 21 Pilots is the first band that comes to mind that has long used masks in their performances with little to no negative repercussions. It might just need to be leaned into and made a stylistic choice like Gaga did here. Grande’s mask was less of a statement and more of a necessity it seemed, but nonetheless it looked good and did not seem too distracting. This really puts anti maskers in their place too which is nice. If Gaga can perform a full set in a mask, you can wear one to Walmart.
If ANYONE can incorporate modern and timely Personal Protective Equipment into a COVID safe performance, it is Lady Gaga. As a pioneer of performative fashion in the music industry there is no doubt she could do this in a way that almost makes it seem normal, instead of what would otherwise essentially be a 2020 Period Piece. I thought her mask in particular was so much fun. What a wonderful way to incorporate that into her costume. I think I forgot how prominent masks have been in performance before everything we are doing with them now. I mean, centuries of performance artists have been using masks in unique, and often culturally significant, ways. I guess with the modern connotation of “mask,” all of my knowledge of theatre history went unremembered. Masked performances are NOT as new as we think they are, and I am glad this article bopped me in the head to remember that.
Honestly, Sammy nailed it on the head when she said that Gaga is THE one to incorporate personal protective equipment into bold fashion on a national stage. While I did not watch the VMA’s live, I have caught performances on YouTube and Twitter and I was really blown away at the impact Gaga and Grande’s performance of Rain on Me created. I was initially really skeptical about the decision to continue with the VMA’s but after watching some of the performances it was clear that the producers did have a COVID conscious hat on. I would be really interested in seeing what the backstage looked like and what social distancing precautions were taken off stage. Additionally, the union crews that loaded in and struck the equipment must have been following some sort of COVID precautions and I think it is important to be transparent about the production every step of the way.
Masks are such a cool element to concerts. It is really rare that I find myself in a concert, and I actually want to focus on the performer’s face. The point is the music and the spectacle. Masks add in a really interesting design element that can add a lot to a performance. Per usual, I am not surprised that this article heavily ties in to Lady Gaga. Throughout her career she has made it known that social justice and caring for the global community is a priority for her, and this is a perfect example of her practicing what she is preaching. As many people have mentioned, the history of masks in live performance is vast, and there is great significance in the forms and expression of those masks. In the 2020 reappearance, these masks have a different significance, but there is the capacity for them to expand to integral pieces of the spectacle.
This article provides interesting context of masks in entertainment. I had been intrigued by the masked singer television show and was following along on social media to discover which celebrities were under the mask. While that show does offer an opportunity for the audience to be caught off the guard and have their expectations subverted by who is under the mask, based on interviews with the celebrities, they seemed to be getting just as much, if not more, from the experience. A lot of them got a chance to show off a talent without preconceived notions about who they were. In the age of social media and celebrity persona, we as a society are very good at pigeonholing celebrities into one specific thing. This doesn’t seem to line up with some of the more historic usage of masks. Additionally, Lady Gaga’s and Ariana Grande’s mask weren’t erasing their identity so that a character could exist on its own. While I enjoyed the article presentation of masks through the ages, each cases use of them from Commedia dell’Arte to now seem more disjointed and not as interconnected as the article tries to present. Also, I just need to talk about the cuts for the quick changes in the performance, because that’s the bleeding edge of live/pre-recorded entertainment. That’s how you give a “live” performance energy while still making the most of a pre-recorded setting.
I mean if Lady Gaga is listed in an article… I’m gonna click on it, it’s inevitable. I found this article very interesting and brought light to some history to the tradition of wear masks during a musical performance. I thought the Chinese Bian Lian was very cool and really makes sense for an opera. It's almost like greek theatre using masks to show the heightened emotions of the characters in the dramatic plots. Julie Tamor’s Production of Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) at the Metropolitan Opera which incorporated masks into some roles as a continuation of the character’s body and form. I also took delight in watching Gaga's performance and saw that her eyes had to tell most of the story telling and give us the idea she was singing live. It is fascinating to see how performers are handling wearing mask and i think it was a bold choice and definitely something we will look back at and remember post-covid.
8 comments:
My roommates and I watched the VMA’s live because some our favorite artists were performing (like Lady Gaga, BTS, Miley Cyrus) and although we anticipated the social distancing of performers and crew - we were still surprised to see Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande (as well as all o f their backup dancers) wearing masks during their set. Gaga also managed to sport a different color mask for every award she received. While I commend her for setting an example about how we need to wear masks, I didn’t even make the connection that masks on stage are actually not that uncommon. In recent years, you have shows like the Masked Singer, but you also have groups like the Jabbawockeez - who are identifiable by their all white face masks. As the article also mentioned, art forms like noh have been around forever, allowing performers to physically become their onstage persona. Gaga’s mask added to her performance - it felt a little cyberpunk and a little bit Mad Max, and it would have been interesting to see how other musical artists chose to interpret their mask wearing into their acts.
Masked performances have predated time. Wearing masks for performance can help both you and the audience be immersed in the character you are portraying and the world you are in. In Gaga’s case, it helped exemplify her facial expressions to a whole new level. I felt as if you were combining a real-life person with a animation character’s mouth. Most of the background dancers had masks that complimented their outfits, but Grande’s did neither compliment nor enhance. I think Grande’s was more of a statement to wear a mask as opposed to Gaga and the dancers were trying to show the world how masks can enhance our culture.
This is actually a really interesting article that brings up some good points that I had not thought of before. People have been telling me how hard it would be for musicals to be performed by masked singers, but this is clear evidence that that is just wrong. There are always ways around things like this, and masks have been used by singers for so long now. 21 Pilots is the first band that comes to mind that has long used masks in their performances with little to no negative repercussions. It might just need to be leaned into and made a stylistic choice like Gaga did here. Grande’s mask was less of a statement and more of a necessity it seemed, but nonetheless it looked good and did not seem too distracting. This really puts anti maskers in their place too which is nice. If Gaga can perform a full set in a mask, you can wear one to Walmart.
If ANYONE can incorporate modern and timely Personal Protective Equipment into a COVID safe performance, it is Lady Gaga. As a pioneer of performative fashion in the music industry there is no doubt she could do this in a way that almost makes it seem normal, instead of what would otherwise essentially be a 2020 Period Piece. I thought her mask in particular was so much fun. What a wonderful way to incorporate that into her costume. I think I forgot how prominent masks have been in performance before everything we are doing with them now. I mean, centuries of performance artists have been using masks in unique, and often culturally significant, ways. I guess with the modern connotation of “mask,” all of my knowledge of theatre history went unremembered. Masked performances are NOT as new as we think they are, and I am glad this article bopped me in the head to remember that.
Honestly, Sammy nailed it on the head when she said that Gaga is THE one to incorporate personal protective equipment into bold fashion on a national stage. While I did not watch the VMA’s live, I have caught performances on YouTube and Twitter and I was really blown away at the impact Gaga and Grande’s performance of Rain on Me created. I was initially really skeptical about the decision to continue with the VMA’s but after watching some of the performances it was clear that the producers did have a COVID conscious hat on. I would be really interested in seeing what the backstage looked like and what social distancing precautions were taken off stage. Additionally, the union crews that loaded in and struck the equipment must have been following some sort of COVID precautions and I think it is important to be transparent about the production every step of the way.
Masks are such a cool element to concerts. It is really rare that I find myself in a concert, and I actually want to focus on the performer’s face. The point is the music and the spectacle. Masks add in a really interesting design element that can add a lot to a performance. Per usual, I am not surprised that this article heavily ties in to Lady Gaga. Throughout her career she has made it known that social justice and caring for the global community is a priority for her, and this is a perfect example of her practicing what she is preaching. As many people have mentioned, the history of masks in live performance is vast, and there is great significance in the forms and expression of those masks. In the 2020 reappearance, these masks have a different significance, but there is the capacity for them to expand to integral pieces of the spectacle.
This article provides interesting context of masks in entertainment. I had been intrigued by the masked singer television show and was following along on social media to discover which celebrities were under the mask. While that show does offer an opportunity for the audience to be caught off the guard and have their expectations subverted by who is under the mask, based on interviews with the celebrities, they seemed to be getting just as much, if not more, from the experience. A lot of them got a chance to show off a talent without preconceived notions about who they were. In the age of social media and celebrity persona, we as a society are very good at pigeonholing celebrities into one specific thing. This doesn’t seem to line up with some of the more historic usage of masks. Additionally, Lady Gaga’s and Ariana Grande’s mask weren’t erasing their identity so that a character could exist on its own. While I enjoyed the article presentation of masks through the ages, each cases use of them from Commedia dell’Arte to now seem more disjointed and not as interconnected as the article tries to present. Also, I just need to talk about the cuts for the quick changes in the performance, because that’s the bleeding edge of live/pre-recorded entertainment. That’s how you give a “live” performance energy while still making the most of a pre-recorded setting.
I mean if Lady Gaga is listed in an article… I’m gonna click on it, it’s inevitable. I found this article very interesting and brought light to some history to the tradition of wear masks during a musical performance. I thought the Chinese Bian Lian was very cool and really makes sense for an opera. It's almost like greek theatre using masks to show the heightened emotions of the characters in the dramatic plots. Julie Tamor’s Production of Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) at the Metropolitan Opera which incorporated masks into some roles as a continuation of the character’s body and form. I also took delight in watching Gaga's performance and saw that her eyes had to tell most of the story telling and give us the idea she was singing live. It is fascinating to see how performers are handling wearing mask and i think it was a bold choice and definitely something we will look back at and remember post-covid.
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