A long time ago, I had an LA based queer centered art magazine called THE WORK MAG - which featured, you can guess, out spoken beautiful queen artists from around the globe. Early into this was a very special story that Zackary Drucker shared in our pages of her transitioning documentation and interview. I've known Zackary from at times close up, and often times admiring from afar, for well over 8 years at this point. Watching her evolution and representation within the trans community has been so inspiring and powerful to witness. Be It through museum works, big screen production, behind the scenes and vocally at the forefront. She has been one of the top public facing folx advocating through art to help shift and change how our society connects to our trans community. Her work is a necessary gift we've been given and one that she continues to give. Below is a more in-depth breakdown of her work from over the years to current times. I feel so grateful to know her and to have been able to be influenced by her gifts. Please enjoy this very special interview with us and her.
Photographer, producer, and activist Zackary Drucker has reshaped contemporary conversations around gender presentation and identity within art and popular culture. Drucker has stated that she considers discovering, telling, and preserving trans history to be not only an artistic opportunity but a political responsibility. Her most recent exhibition currently on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art: Icons intertwines narratives of the artist and her mentor, Rosalyne Blumenstein, who helped popularize the term “transgender” and directed the pioneering Gender Identity Project at what is now the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City. Drucker’s work investigates the personal and political significance of idealized female beauty for individuals whose basic right to exist is constantly questioned with a series of intimate self-portraits following invasive facial feminization surgeries. You can also see her examine an in-depth look at Hollywood's depiction of transgender people and the impact of their stories on transgender lives and American culture in the Netflix documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen.
Who are you?
Zackary Drucker. I am an artist and a cultural producer and I believe myself to be human.
Why do you make your work?
To expand our culture's notions of the difference, to enable justice, and to amplify marginalized voices.
What do you believe in?
I believe that the power of generosity and kindness supersedes everything. That even in the face of tyranny, brutality, and chaos, that people loving and providing for each other is undefeatable.
Name one thing you say no to?
Being mean. It's not acceptable under any circumstances. I learned this one from my Auntie Kate Bornstein.
What change would you like to see?
Where do I start? More the point, what change will we see? Change is the only guarantee in life.
Name one thing that makes you happy?
Marijuana and sex.
If you have used NOTO before, what is your favorite product and why?
NOTO Resurface Scrub. I once was lost and now I'm found. I will never go back to life without this product.
How would you describe your personal routine ?
I am a Taurus so I cherish earthly delight. I am not a big fan of holidays. Routine and discipline are fundamental to my productivity and mental health. For most of my adult life, my routine has been very unpredictable. 2020 is a whole new ballgame.
What did you want to be as a child?
A postman.
Can you remember one solid piece of advice you've gotten for the growth of your work?
If it doesn't make you nervous, it isn't worth doing. That's a direct quote from my late grandmother Flawless Sabrina.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Octavia Butler
Who is one person in culture that you feel is making a positive and inspiring change ?
#BlackLivesMatter
Disclosure is now on Netflix as of June 19. The Baltimore Museum of Art conversation opened June 24.