Get an up-close look at a dynamic ensemble created by Machine Dazzle for 2022's NYC Pride
Get an up-close look at a dynamic ensemble created by Machine Dazzle for 2022's NYC Pride
1st floor, Joel I. & Joan Picket Museum Treasures Case
The year 2022 marked the jubilant return of NYC Pride after two years of COVID-19 pandemic cancellations. The Metropolitan Opera’s parade float featured four singers draped in rainbows by Machine Dazzle, a queer performance artist and Emmy-award winning costume and set designer. Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, who wore the dynamic ensemble now on view on our first floor, was joined by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, tenor David Portillo, and baritone Lucia Lucas, the first trans performer to take a leading role in American opera.
The year was significant for Costanzo and Machine Dazzle as well: Costanzo won a second Grammy Award for his performance in Phillip Glass’ opera Akhnaten, and Machine Dazzle had his first solo exhibition—a two-floor retrospective at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. The Met Opera’s float served as a testament to both artists’ success in breaking down traditional boundaries and subverting hierarchies of musical genre, artistic discipline, and performance traditions. Curated by Jeanne Gutierrez, Isabelle Held, and Rebecca Klassen
Exhibitions at The New York Historical are made possible by the Saunders Trust for American History, the Evelyn & Seymour Neuman Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.
Media sponsor:
