CULTURE
MACHINE DAZZLE RAZZLE DAZZLES AT THE MAD MUSEUM
SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
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WORDS
by KRISTOPHER FRASER
PHOTOS
COURTESY of MAD MUSEUM
Give them the old razzle dazzle, Machine Dazzle. Genre-defying artist Machine Dazzle has a lot to celebrate with the opening of his solo first exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York.
Dazzle’s work is renowned for its campy, queer, maximalist aesthetic ranging from mixed patterns, stars, flowers, feathers, sequins, and tulle all thrown together to create an eclectic aesthetic fit for the finest drag queen. Dazzle originally didn’t see his work as a museum piece, but a few years ago he was approached by a museum curator named Elissa Arthur who asked him why his work wasn’t being shown in museums. Thus, his journey to creating a museum exhibit began.
Arthur came over to Dazzle’s house pre-COVID-19 lockdown and went through an entire archive of his life from shows he performed into magazines and photographs he collected. After sorting through everything, they decided the angle would be queer maximalism.
Dazzle was told the exhibit would be two floors, and he got to work. He knew one of the first things that would interest MAD was his collaboration with Taylor Mac the actor, playwright, and performance artist. Dazzle describes his work with Mac as his “pride and joy.”
One of the things most important to Dazzle was that the exhibit amplified his time with the Dazzle Dancers, whom he describes as “strippers performing in queer and gay spaces.” Dazzle made the costumes for the Dazzle Dancers, and they would cover their bodies in glitter.
“The Dazzle Dancers were like my guinea pigs,” Dazzle said. “The fourth floor, one of the two floors for this exhibit, is dedicated specifically to them.”
The rest of the exhibit highlights much of Dazzle’s career, including his one-man show called Treasure, which had a music album he produced attached to it. He described this show as “a rock’n’roll cabaret dedicated to his mother that also included a 13-person fashion show.”
Other sections of the exhibit include one-off pieces, like things he would wear to the Easter Parade, Pride Month, or to protest the Republican National Convention. Pieces personally loaned by actor, singer, and performing artist Justin Vivian Bond, whom Dazzle has been a longtime collaborator with, are also featured in the exhibit.
Despite his longtime use of costumes and clothing as a medium, Dazzle doesn’t fancy himself a fashion designer at all. Clothes and costumes just happen to be his canvas.
