Just in case you’ve somehow escaped the ubiquitous Ice Bucket Challenge, here’s the low down: The ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) Association launched a viral fundraising campaign in which a person is challenged via social media to dump a bucket of ice water on his or her head. The person has 24 hours to donate to the ALS Association, complete the challenge, or do both. Once they have done so, they challenge other people in their social network to do the deed, ensuring the thing spreads like wildfire, or at least a chain letter. At this point, the trend has both spiraled out of control and obfuscated the initial purpose of the campaign, but that hasn’t stopped countless celebrities from jumping on the bandwagon.
Eschewing the typical scream-and-run-around reaction to having ice water dumped upon one’s head, Lady Gaga opted to turn her Ice Bucket Challenge into a performance art piece worthy of her pal Marina Abramović, finally putting to rest the nagging question, “Is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Art?” In a bondage suit and jet black lipstick, Gaga perches on a chair and stares into the camera with dead eyes. She holds a giant silver bowl above her head, gracefully dumps it on herself, and remains unfazed, despite he ice cubes falling off of her, before staring into the camera once again with the same expressionless gaze. Evidently, once you’ve worn a dress made of raw meat, you must be pretty impervious to discomfort.
Gaga posted the video to her Instagram earlier this week, nominating Adele, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, Streamline Records founder Vincent Herbert, and Live Nation Global Music Group chairman Arthur Fogel, in return.
Watch Lady Gaga taking the ice bucket challenge: