Performance art is to celebrities what YouTube videos are to adorable cat owners -- neither parties are forced to partake in their respective activities, yet countless insist upon doing so.
Tilda Swinton, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga and a slew of other famous names have dipped their toes in the art world waters recently, hosting ambiguous "performances" at meccas like the Museum of Modern Art and Pace Gallery in New York City. And now, as if to say "Hello, I've been doing this my whole career," Madonna has dramatically followed suit.
The singer performed a cover of Elliott Smith's "Between the Bars" this week, a stunt meant to promote the premiere of her "secretprojectrevolution" short film. Dragged on stage and handcuffed by men dressed in police uniforms, she belted out the words to the late '90s song from the floor of Gagosian Gallery in NYC while hooded dancers moved in the shadows behind her. Somehow Madge took the Smith diddy -- with lyrics about alcohol use and depression -- and turned it into her own personal statement on the world's prison systems.
"When I say I wanna start a revolution, that is exactly what I mean,"Madonna exclaimed at the live event. "I mean I want to start a movement of people, of artists, who are not worried about winning popularity contests, who are not worried about approval, who are not worried about whether their ass looks good -- although it is important to have a good-looking ass..."
Thoughts?