Lorde's new single "Man of the Year" from her upcoming album *Virgin* (released June 27) features a music video that visually references Walter De Maria's *New York Earth Room* (1977), a minimalist installation of 280,000 pounds of soil filling a SoHo loft. The video shows Lorde stripping, taping her breasts, and rolling in dirt, while the song's lyrics explore her fluid gender identity. Lorde also cites Italian artist Lucio Fontana and includes an X-ray cover image by photographer Heji Shin.
This matters because it highlights how contemporary pop musicians continue to engage with visual art, drawing attention to lesser-known but iconic works like De Maria's *Earth Room*, which is maintained by the Dia Art Foundation. Lorde's reference to a minimalist land art piece—rather than a blockbuster painting—signals a deeper, more niche art-world awareness among mainstream artists, potentially introducing new audiences to conceptual and site-specific art. The article also underscores the intersection of gender identity and artistic expression, as Lorde uses the video to visually and lyrically embody her evolving sense of self.