Hi all, in honor of the upcoming premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 4, I thought I would share some of my (rejection) application photos. A friend of mine encouraged me to try out, and although I’m not a professional drag queen, I tried to come at it from a contemporary art point-of-view. I have so much respect for what really amazing polished Drag Queens do. It is such a process/performance of living on the line of complete vulnerability and projection of self-confidence. I would like to try a drag contest at some point this year…I keep making empty promises. While there are similarities between doing my drag and doing my performance video characters, they are very different, and are not necessarily intermingled. I don’t consider my artwork, whether I’m wearing a wig, a dress, or makeup to be drag, it is something beyond the cause of gender or female impersonation. Although there is a separation of the two, this application was very much in line with my art practice, as it focused on the performance of becoming…of trying to do something well, and embracing all of the insecurities and shortcomings. Anyway I’m very excited for Season 4! and I’m rooting for Sharon Needles all the way.
The best part of the whole application was the long long long night I spent with my two friends putting it all together. It was fantastic. That was the art piece. My friend Nicole did the awesome make-up and took the photos! and Diane did the camera work. And I did the costumes. Eat it up my subjects.
my loner princess look
My John William Waterhouse/Tempest look
