Machine Dazzle, to my mind, [is] a true theatrical genius who has created some of the most inventive costumes and sets I have ever seen. Hilton Als Machine Dazzle is the much in-demand designer and artist behind popular cabaret, drag, and performance stars such as Taylor Mac and transgender icon Mx. Justin Vivian Bond. For the first time, his over-the-top stage creations, made for himself and others, are collected in one volume alongside stage environments, ephemera, and photos from his fascinating career. In Machine Dazzle s world, costumes are transformative objects with world-making capacity. The artist s queer maximalism encapsulates a more is better attitude to making and creating which looks to counter elitist notions that spectacle and extravagance are vapid. For him these associations are embraced as queer for their affirmation of hybridity over purity and the rejection of hierarchies of every kind, cultural and otherwise. On the occasion of a major exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design, curator Elissa Auther brings together a rich collections of essays and reminiscences from fellow performers, historians and cultural critics that consider every aspect of Machine Dazzle s rich body of work.

About the Author
Elissa Auther is Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design. Mx. Justin Vivian Bond is a transgender singer, writer, performance artist and activist. Mike Albo is a writer, comedian and performance artist. madison moore is a cultural critic, DJ, and Professor of Queer Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. David Roman is Professor of English and American Studies at the University of Southern California. Taylor Mac is a theatre artist. Sally Gray is an independent scholar who focuses on art, fashion and design history. Kalle Westerling is a theatre and performance PhD candidate working on the history and aesthetics of male-identified bodies in 20th-century burlesque and 21st-century boylesque.

Reviews
"A feast for the eyes and mind, Queer Maximalism x Machine Dazzle is the exhibition book of the first solo museum show dedicated to the work of designer/performer Matthew Flower (aka Machine Dazzle), whose voluble costumes burst with energy and meaning. Photos of his go-big-or-go-home aesthetic are accompanied by expository material, including pieces from Mike Albo and Madison Moore and a Q+A with Mx Justin Vivian Bond." -AV CLUB



Book Information
ISBN 9780847869671
Author Elissa Auther
Format Hardback
Page Count 160
Imprint Rizzoli International Publications
Publisher Rizzoli International Publications