I will never forget the first time I saw MAC’s 1994 Viva Glam campaign, because someone told me they’d used a drag queen for it, and when I saw the absolutely stunning images of RuPaul I was gobsmacked as a 14 year old. Obviously I had never been to a drag show, so I had to idea that a man could make himself look like the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. That MAC campaign opened my eyes to an art form that I’ve appreciated for the 30 years since. At the time, drag was underground but just starting to make it’s way out, and Michael James O’Brien was immortalizing New York and London’s queens on film. In 1992, he captured an awesome portrait series called Girlfriend — check it out below.
Drag was a very strong part of the rich performative life of New York & London in the early 1990’s. I met the subjects in the clubs & theaters that I went to, such as Jackie 60, the Copacabana, Mud Club, Save the Robots, Studio 54, Area the Black Cap & Taboo in London & many others.
I worked extensively with Susanne Bartsch & a team of producers on 3 editions of the Love Ball in NYC & Paris which raised several million dollars for support of those living with HIV/AIDS. Drag performers were instrumental in these initiatives.
Many of the performers I photographed were legends of drag like Dorian Corey (narrator of Paris is Burning), Joey Arias, Lady Bunny, Lavinia Co-op, John Kelly & many others & we often became friends. Their world was not judgmental- it was welcoming & inclusive.
– MJO, interview via Musée
