In The Bowery

Dear Reader;

We have started making plans for Halloween, and I wanted to emotionally prepare you for it. Last year, I made my husband dress as a girl for the Strawberry Switchblade costumes, but this year we are both dressing as the (male) costumer and performance artist Leigh Bowery. Here is my working sketch for our costumes:

Leigh was a larger-than-life Australian who relocated to London in the 80's. His club Taboo was the subject of the Boy George-starring musical that was a big hit in the West End, but tanked in the States and cost Rosie O'Donnell the equivalent of a month of tongue baths from young, attractive coeds putting themselves through beauty college.

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Leigh was constantly changing up his "look", and influenced Michael Alig (Party Monster), Damien Hirst, and a young Alexander McQueen- although the last two have not yet killed anyone. Michael most noticeably lifted the Polka-Dot Man look from Leigh. Leigh's cast-aside material has been used to craft entire personas and careers for other people. Leigh's band, Minty, had an extremely dirty song as a hit in the Netherlands , "Useless Man."

The photographer Fergus Greer did a book of portraits of Leigh over six years called Leigh Bowery Looks.

Leigh is also one of Lucien Freud's most best-known portrait sitters.

There's a great film that documents some of his projects and his attempts to elevate life to an art, Legends of Leigh Bowery.

This is a shot from the excellent UK sci-fi comedy show Spaced, in which Little Britain's David Walliams portrays a Leigh Bowery-type character called Vulva. Strangely, when Boy George vacated the West End stage, the other half of Little Britain, Matt Lucas, took over as Leigh.

If anyone in Portland is stuck for a costume and would like to choose a Leigh look and join us for Halloween, let me know! It'll be fun. Probably.

I think this is the linkiest post ever.