Remember when Lady Gaga swathed herself in a dress made of raw meat for the MTV Video Music Awards back in September, upstaging VMA presenter Cher? (Cher was probably wondering why her favorite designer of outrageous eveningwear had never thought to use beef as a material. Especially considering the dress’ name could have written itself: the Big Mackie.)
Anyway, Gaga’s taste for unusual attire (the meat dress is but one example) inspired Entertainment Weekly to conceptualize an equally unusual gallery for its “Entertainers of the Year” issue. Here, EW photo editor Michele Romero talks about how the images came together and why she chose Matthias Clamer for the shoot, which was instantly snapped up by everyone from Perez Hilton to Jezebel.
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Photo by Matthias Clamer for Entertainment Weekly.
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“The concept to illustrate the year in Lady Gaga by using Barbie dolls came from executive editor Kristen Baldwin. As a picture editor, a creative notion like this one is a thrilling gift. It was even more exciting to get the thumbs up from our managing editor. Then came the reality crash of ‘Uh oh, how’m I gonna do this?’
I knew I wanted to execute a re-creation of actual photographs. The pictures had to be as realistic as possible, or the series would not work. I hired the hair person first, because I knew she could transform the Barbies. Then I thought about Matthias Clamer for this job because he and I have a long history of turning notebook sketches into a photographic reality.”
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Photo by Matthias Clamer for Entertainment Weekly.
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“The set designer was also key. But Matthias was the one who knew how to light the concert shot. The foreground crowd are seven male dolls duct taped together with a cardboard arc creating shadow over their heads. Gaga is hung with fishing wire and spot lit with a handmade lighting rig. Matthias knew to spray the set with a water mist to create our ‘fog.’ The fire was shot in camera because our prop stylist (Sophia Flores), who built the piano, placed six menorah-sized candles in the center and the flames shot up perfectly. The cheers that erupted from the crew were probably louder than an actual Gaga show.
The point to all this is I can have the idea, but hiring the right crew is key. This photo shoot was wonderfully collaborative, and it is imperative that I work with someone who can take direction, make the work his own and not treat me like an idiot (happens). I like making pictures, and I am grateful for every member of my crew. But to work with Matthias is cool because his brain is fixated on mechanical solutions. And I find that exercise to be the fun part of this job.”
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To see more, visit “Barbie Goes (Lady) Gaga.”
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