All eyes were on the 2014 South X Southwest Keynote last friday when Gaga took the stage for an hour-long set that included an ‘artistic vomiting’ number during the performance of her track “Swine”. Millie Brown is the experimental artist Gaga chose to collaborate with on her shocking statement. Brown is known for drinking coloured milk and then throwing it up onto the canvas, only difference is that Gaga was now the canvas.
Although receiving a great deal of criticism by the press and specially from organizations trying to put and end to eating disorders, according to The Independent, Millie Brown assures that this artistic, yet gross, technique represents no harm for her health.
The whole concert set was streamed live on Fuse.tv and the official SXSW’s site and was accompanied by an hour-long interview hosted by John Norris in which Gaga supported her message of rejection towards the “poisonous industry” that is music business nowadays and how malicious corporations try to control artists and have no regard for the making of true art but the making loads of money. Gaga’s point is pretty clear and understandable coming from an artist that has earned world-wide superstardom in less than six years.
“Don’t sell out, sell in.” were Lady Gaga’s words to her fans and advised the audience that the illusion of Hollywood is not real and will destroy the our dreams and our potential for art if we don’t fight against it. Maybe we need strong statements like this one in order to have an honest and rich Pop culture and mainstream art.