“And the idea of a monster being a misunderstood thing that, over time, people learn to love. It’s the same with fame.”
—Lady Gaga, Vanity Fair 2010
Using a collage style, the reconstruction of Gaga’s face brings an uncanny recognition, calling on themes of self-image and identity in the context of fame. Additional elements are gory—monstrous—echoed in the lyrics of the album’s songs. The grainy textures & a delicate typeface reference newspapers, indicating the media’s role in shaping a public persona and how easily it influences our perceptions.
All elements were printed & handcut to capture texture, then scanned in and manipulated further. I purposefully made irregular cuts to add interest. The face elements were bitmapped together for a sense of unity, while the background horror elements were bitmapped separately before printing to add abstraction & textural variety.
My main areas of explorations were how the collage would fit on the cover with text, contrast between foreground/background, and arranging all cutout pieces.
Original photos.
Cut components.
Cover iterations.