Gaga on Criticism, Ms. Horyn

GAGA MEMORANDUM NO. 3

In her latest column for V magazine, Lady Gaga investigates critical culture, directing much attention to the esteemed (and notoriously harsh) Cathy Horyn. Gaga questions the necessity of being highly critical to the point that said criticism is negative to the point it becomes predictable. She herself has stated that critics are bullies, which one cannot easily disagree with. Certainly being a critic requires expertise and (hopefully) disgression, but often critical writing reads as if the writer is reveling in being mean spirited. I myself have weighed the value of being critical, struggling with saying something that could be potentially divisive. That is, if any of the creators I write about actually read my blog—they don't...yet. Every time I have this conversation, of sorts, Horyn comes up, perhaps because she is the most vocally critical fashion journalist alive today. Without a doubt, I feel that honest criticism is necessary to keep artists thinking forward and such shoes are difficult to fill. For that, I applaud Ms. Horyn's bravery, as I could not be so objective that I eliminate the possibility of befriending—or at least having the respect of—the world's most important designers (perhaps journalism isn't really for me...?).

Gaga asks, "Is it not even more critical for fashion and art critics to be profusely informed not only in art history but in the subliminal? The public operates with the assumption that critics are experts in their respective fields. But are they? Does every critic have the soul to really receive a work in the transcendental sense? The out-of-body experience of art?" Too often those who experience art only think of it in terms of good and bad. What I believe Gaga asks for in this column is a journalistic consciousness that looks deeper, that experiences the work. I sometimes wonder if I have the "soul" for it and cringe at the thought that I may not. Then again, I wonder that about a lot of things. Perhaps that's telling...or not at all.

I found the piece to be probing and important, even in it's a bit of an assault on Horyn. I still believe Horyn has a valuable place in the fashion community. This kind of discourse often has me searching within myself for a guide, if you will. I just hope Glitter Way presents itself to me in time.