Madonna: The enduring crown of pop culture transformation

The butterfly effect discusses the impact of small, often unplanned decisions on life. The Madonna effect is the complete opposite. When Madonna Louise Ciccone came to New York City in 1978, the city was predatory, brutal, and decaying. She loved that rotten odium. She decided to wash the Big Apple with her bare fists and win at any cost, deceiving the opponent with dozens of masks.

Madonna is an example of pop-cultural mimicry. Her new incarnations make her resemble an artistic vision of global impact. Although in a world accelerated to the limits of the trend carousel, the catapult to fame is within the reach of a scrolling thumb. The last four decades have shown that there has not been and will not be another Madonna.

Only a few dozen dollars in her pocket, her first airplane flight, and dreams of dancing filled nineteen-year-old Madonna’s mind at the end of the '70s. The ostentatious disco era was slowly graying, making way for the louder, underground scene. DJs discovered the power of sound systems playing 14-hour sets for thousands of people. The creative energy of various fields weaved an uncompromising tale. In the iconic "Danceteria," Sade served drinks, LL Cool J was the elevator operator, and Madonna spent long hours on the dance floor, right next to Grace Jones and Vivienne Westwood.

The hunger for expression and musical curiosity soon resulted in her first record contract. In 1985, Madonna starred in the movie "Desperately Seeking Susan" - but she primarily found herself in the no longer-existing New York underworld, which Mayor Rudy Giuliani sterilized. Madonna appeared in Andy Warhol's circles from the beginning, befriended Keith Haring, and tied herself to Basquiat. She immediately heard that she couldn't sing. But it was precisely due to the ferment of the underground scene that she ensured she didn't have to. She was not just a singer—she felt like an artist having absolute power over her creation. This included her image and persona, where every album and she were new projects.

Madonna's style in the '80s defined the decade and is considered the best preview of her following incarnations. Although her pop was contagious with catchiness, the initial image was a homage to DIY culture and the opposite of the sugary style of her rival, Cyndi Lauper. The birth of Madonna was marked by bold, careless makeup, dozens of bracelets and necklaces (including rosaries), fishnet stockings, a tulle bow in the hair, lace gloves, and sassy layers. Madonna combined club aesthetics with New Romantic - punk diluted with pop, became a palatable rebellion for teenagers.

Shortly after, she decided to mock the idea of virginity by wearing the famous wedding dress deconstructed with a belt that read "Boy Toy." She provocatively looked at the audience, perfectly captured by Steven Meisel in the sepia session for "Like a Virgin," a milestone in pop history. Her performance at the MTV VMA in 1984, when she sensually writhed on stage after shedding her veil, went down in history. Madonna scholars consider this moment key to starting the cultural war in conservative American media - using considerations of female sexuality and traditionally perceived roles as good ammunition. All this was massively transported through music videos for the first time, growing into film-like, million-dollar enterprises.

Seeing how pop culture slowly knelt before her during Reaganomics, in the era of "True Blue," Madonna opted for short blonde hair and simple styling, playing with the sweet Americana of the '50s. Rejecting tons of accessories was supposed to herald transformation and—contrary to appearances—reveal her sensitive interior. "Papa Don't Preach," touching on teen pregnancy, led to a clash with the Vatican—one of many.

After referencing Marilyn Monroe in the clip for "Material Girl" in the '90s, Madonna decided to daringly refer to her image to the American pantheon of kings - the Golden Age of Hollywood. "Express Yourself," directed by David Fincher, was a playful reference to the expressionist masterpiece "Metropolis" from 1927. Madonna appeared in a man's suit, put a monocle to her eye, and smoothly moved between elements of masculinity and femininity like in Łempicka's paintings.

She continued the convention in "Vogue," paying homage to the club scene from which she emerged. This time, reciting the names of Dietrich, Monroe, and Garbo, Madonna touches on ballroom culture, an underground LGBTQ+ subculture at the time, where the spectacular, theatrical type of dance called "voguing" developed. The minimalist clip, with a shot taken straight from Horst P. Horst's famous Mainbocher corset photo, introduced what many associate with Madonna as much as her diastema.

1990 the Blonde Ambition Tour began worldwide, with costumes designed by fashion's enfant terrible - Jean Paul Gaultier. The iconic corset with the cone bra toyed with the stereotypical bullet bra femininity of the '50s, emerging from a pinstriped men's suit. On Madonna's body, it went from a symbol of oppression to a tool of aggressive, feminine domination.

With the album "Erotica," Madonna unleashed her alter ego, the gold-toothed Mistress Dita. Elements of fetish and BDSM—leather, latex, studs—resonated in the book "Sex." The new dominatrix incarnation was like a bulldozer demolishing constraints, delighting in bacchanalia. She decided to guise herself in yet another incarnation to shield herself from the storm of anger and criticism. Redemption came with her role in "Evita" and the soothing, lullaby-like mega-hit "Take a Bow."

The end of the '90s was a moment for Madonna to discover motherhood and her fascination with Kabbalah. Her image leaned toward restraint, looking to Eastern minimalism. Madonna dared to show herself without an elaborate mask for the first time. This time, she didn't fight but deliberated, indulging in introspection. For an audience immune to her transformations, this was a true shock. And awe. "Ray of Light" was Madonna’s biggest album success.

More gently than in the '90s, in her subsequent incarnations, Madonna continued to play with conventions - country & western, disco, hip-hop. She is "her own experiment, her own art." Madonnology sees Ciccone's provocative transformations as one of the more important tools initiating pop-cultural changes in the 20th century. Madonna is a creation, eternal seeking. Recently, attention has focused on the altered face of Madame X - for which she, as always, did not intend to apologize. Although Madonna's album sales have dropped and her ideas don't seem as revolutionary, she has started another discussion.

About the place of mature women in show business and the right to one’s own appearance. Why won’t she retire? But is it possible if you are an artist? Madonna's criticism comes from the desire to keep her in place. Over sixty, preferably in nostalgic recitals. However, for someone who has redefined the concept of a performer, the only constant is change. Madonna's untamed creative energy remains a significant force, and her loud lack of noble humility is an act of pop rebellion.