The Art of Drag

Lights. Glamour. Action!The history of drag has been formed by many intersections: fashion, theatre, sexuality and politics - all coming together to create the show stopping entertainment millions witness today. In this lusciously illustrated guide, journalist Jake Hall delves deep into the ancient beginnings of drag, to the present day and beyond. Vibrant illustrations enhance the rich history from Kabuki theatre to Shakespeare, the revolutionary Stonewall riots to the thriving New York ballroom scene. The book also comes with fascinating glimpses into the future of drag with insights from personalities including The Vixen, Crystal Rasmussen, Sweatmother and Don One.From Paris Is Burning to Pose and from Lady Bunny to Victoria Sin, nothing will go untouched in this must-have documentation of all things drag.

Wigs have never looked taller, nor eye shadow so excessive. The result is a truly fabulous combination history and gift book. Publisher's Weekly
The broad-minded perspective [The Art of Drag] adopts when looking to the past translates into how it looks to the future, too. I-D Magazine: The Vixen and Crystal Rasmussen on the future of drag
Accompanying Hall's extensive history is a seemingly endless supply of bold illustrations, created in collaboration with artists Sofie Birkin, Helen Li, and Jasjyot Singh Hans. Dazed Digital
The colour work is in the book is gorgeous too, it's a beautiful book that any fan of drag would love. rareopalreads on Instagram
A lavishly illustrated guide hopes to tell the complete story of the Art of Drag @Creativeboom on Twitter
Helen Li, Jake Hall, Jasjyot Singh Hans and Sofie Birkin's book is a tremendous feat of inclusivity that should have queers and straights alike reaching for it. Pop Matters
An upcoming non-fiction book, full of gorgeous art. It shows readers the history of drag through beautiful illustration and fun comic characters. Book Riot
Meticulously details everything from the ancient beginnings of drag to its present day ubiquity... and explores how fashion, theatre, gender and politics come together to create the fabulous art form. Dazed
Fun, thorough and so beautiful! It taught me more about drag than I could have ever imagined. -- Amelia Abraham Queer Intentions
The book is an essential guide to drag, its history, its impact and its continued potency. -- Amrou Al-Kadhi Unicorn
Utterly desirable as an art object but also hugely informative about the art of drag. -- Juno Roche Trans Power
A colorful compendium of queer history.From ancient times to the modern day, human beings have bent and broken rules about gender through clothing, makeup, and performance. Tracing this history through to the possible future, Hall attempts to synthesize larger theories of drag and queer liberation while also providing thumbnail sketches of individuals, communities, and timeframes. They use a cheery tone to introduce readers to Kabuki theater in Japan, the Peking opera, British pantomime, the Pansy Craze of early-20th-century New York City, the Harlem ballroom scene that came to prominence in the 1980s, and other subjects. The book also introduces famous drag queens like House Mother Crystal LaBeija, RuPaul, Divine, and masc-presenting performers and drag kings like Gladys Alberta Bentley and Stormé DeLarverie (though William Dorsey Swann, a formerly enslaved Black pioneer of American drag, is noticeably missing). Through mostly serviceable prose, occasionally given to run-on sentences or vague platitudes, the book addresses the impact that drag has within queer communities and references the social change created by drag, though readers seeking concrete information about the material impact that drag has had on policy and legislation will be disappointed. The illustrations by a variety of artists offer stylized, full-color renderings of the people mentioned.Useful and optimistic. Kirkus Reviews
Rated 5/It's hard to look away from this exuberantly illustrated book on all things drag. With a cover title and accents in embossed silver, pages framed and edged in neon pink, and fantastic queens of every stripe on every page, this is a visual feast. And beyond the varied art styles of the eight talented artists' gorgeous illustrations, the author presents a thorough and interesting look at the performance, glamour, fashion trends and political influences of cross-dressing through history. The importance of the phenomenon for LGBTQ+, Black and other racial and cultural groups is given prime importance. And the outfits! The makeup! Wow! Such artistry! Each chapter includes fascinating information: from "400 BCE - 1900's", to early 20th century, to 2000 and beyond, including looks at Stonewall, John Waters, Rocky Horror Picture Show, RuPaul, and so many more amazing people, movies, clubs, music, and shows.Hall includes a substantial bibliography, a table of contents and an index. This book is entertainment and reference in one package: it's respectful AND fun. I feel that readers will come away with such an appreciation of this very special art. Personally, I look forward to exploring more about the artists and films featured in the book . -- Stephanie Tournas (Retired Librarian) Youth Services Book Review

Jake Hall is a freelance writer who has written for Dazed Digital, i-D, VICE, Highsnobiety, INTO, Refinery29 UK, and British Vogue, among others. They have written on topics from sustainability in fashion and body-shaming in queer communities, to government crackdowns on queer people, and intersex genital mutilation. Alongside this work, they are studying for a PhD at the University of Birmingham. Jake's research aims to illuminate the link between high fashion and queer theory, as well as arguing the potential of clothing to radically challenge and subvert the social constructs of gender, sexuality, and race.Helen Li is an Australian illustrator based in Warsaw, Poland. She has worked with Google, Facebook, Dropbox and Redbull.Sofie Birkin is a British illustrator based in Denver, USA. She has worked with Cosmopolitan UK and BOA Technology.Jasjyot Singh Hans is an Indian illustrator based in Chicago, USA. He has worked with Google, New York Times and Vogue India.

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