Madame DeLyte

Book with Wings, 1992–94

Lead, tin, and steel

74 3/4 x 208 5/8 x 43 3/8 inches (189.9 x 529.9 x 110.2 cm)

Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth,

Museum purchase, Sid W. Richardson Foundation Endowment Fund

I mean, just look!

je vais laisser la communauté parler:

(Source)

Dorian Corey started out doing drag as a part of the Pearl Box Revue in the 1960s. It was during this time that she began identifying as a trans woman and physically transitioning.

In the 1970s, she became a staple of the New York City drag ball scene, founding the House of Corey and acting as a drag mother to many future legendary drag mothers.

After her death from AIDS-related complications, a mummified body was found stuffed into a coat bag in her closet. The body was later identified as habitual criminal Robert Worley. It is believed that he broke into her apartment, and she killed him in self-defense, but as a Black trans woman, she was terrified of turning to the police so she stuffed him in her closet.

WOMAN (angrily) They’re marigolds!

MAN 2 God! I think she’s right! They are marigolds!

The man in the red cardigan in the clip was played by Michael Greer, who was openly gay himself - unusual for the time. He actually worked closely with the director and rewrote much of the film’s dialogue to reduce the homophobia and make it more realistic. As a result it’s quite progressive for its time, having a gay character, played by a gay man, living in a happy same-sex relationship, which is more than a lot of media offers us today.