While she's been maintaining near-Twitter silence lately, Lady Gaga has posted a few photos here and there on her social networking site, LittleMonsters.com, just to remind fans that she's alive and kicking.  Now, she's posted the most momentous photo yet: one that suggests she's hard at work on her long-awaited new album, ARTPOP.

The black-and-white shot shows Gaga, clad in shorts, a tank top and what looks like a huge blonde wig, sitting on a mixing desk in a recording studio.  Her eyes are closed, and she's embracing a guy seated on a chair in front of her.  The guy is super-producer Dallas Austin, who's worked with everyone from Michael Jackson and Madonna, to Boyz II Men, Pink and Carly Rae Jepsen.

While it looks as though Gaga is flipping the bird in the photo, it can also be argued that she's forming the number six with her left hand.  Austin, meanwhile, is holding up two fingers, perhaps to indicate the number two.  Some fans are speculating online that this indicates the album is coming out on the 26th -- of which month, we don't know, but there have apparently been rumors of an August release date.

Since Gaga has presumably had plenty of time to work on ARTPOP after being sidelined by hip surgery, it could be that the disc will be out sometime this year.

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