Why Drag?

Author(s): Magnus Hastings

Drag

For over a decade, British photographer Magnus Hastings has been photographing the world's greatest drag superstars and asking each of them a simple question: Why drag? The result is this mesmerising collection, in which the queens strut their stuff in gorgeous full-colour photographs and reflect on their shared passion through a mixture of quips and philosophising. Hastings' subjects include icons of reality TV and underground drag royalty, and his photographs range from the divine to the trashy. Featuring the likes of Bianca Del Rio and Courtney Act, this collection is a bold, bright, and beautiful celebration of drag as an art form and an exhilarating exploration of what drag means to its greatest artists.

June 2016


Product Information

Why Drag? Because drag is limitless. Anything is possible and excepted as long as it provokes reaction.' – Darienne Lake, Rochester, New York


'Why drag? Because I like to wear pantyhose.' – Tammie Brown, Los Angeles

"KICK OFF YOUR HEELS AND READ A BOOK Showgirl. Monster. Housefrau. Sexpot. Drag in these and many other personas is the subject of 'Why Drag?, ' a new coffee-table book of portraits by the photographer Magnus Hastings. The luxe portfolio, with a foreword by the gender provocateur Boy George, features over 200 drag queens from around the world. There are celebrity queens, like New York's veteran night life hostess Lady Bunny, looking coy in rabbit ears and black opera gloves, but also under-the-radar gals like Nina West of Columbus, Ohio, dressed as a nutty Valkyrie. 'To me drag is an art form with no rules, ' Mr. Hastings writes in his introduction, 'and my shots are a celebration of that.'"-The New York Times

Magnus Hastings is a British photographer based in Los Angeles and London whose work has been published by magazines such as GQ, Glamour, Us Weekly, Cosmopolitan, People, You, Attitude, Total Film, The Observer, The London Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and Blue,/i. He has photographed celebrities in both the music and acting worlds, and has a following in the cabaret circuit, photographing the best of the genre. He has had several solo exhibitions in the UK as well as participating in an international travelling group show with his panoramic portrait series of Soho and Shoreditch personalities. His work is also featured prominently various books, including Kissed, Shoreditch Unbound and D.R.A.G.

General Fields

  • : 9781452148977
  • : Chronicle Books
  • : Chronicle Books
  • : 1.823
  • : May 2016
  • : 305mm X 254mm X 25mm
  • : United States
  • : June 2016
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : full-colour and b/w photographs throughout, jacketed
  • : 224
  • : 779.2
  • : Jun-16
  • : Hardback
  • : Magnus Hastings