AHHHH!!! I'm still blown away that I got to interview the amazing Dame Darcy. I've been obsessed with her work since the mid 1990s--she's not only an amazing artist/cartoonist/painter she's also a storyteller, musician (her project is called Death by Doll), film maker, fashion icon (she makes her own couture...Anna Sui and Courtney Love are fans too!), and outspoken feminist and environmentalist.
She describes her style as Hillbilly Roccocco and I was completely tickled by all her references to a myriad of influences: King Ludwig II of Bavaria's Neuschwanstein Castle, Liberace, her 1920s boudoir doll named Isabelle, Ziggy Stardust, Grace Jones, Diana Ross (specifically the huge hair/shimmery huge eyed alien Diana of the 1970s), Laura Ingalls and Nellie Olsen (gingham! bonnets! the 19th century!)...and Adam Ant circa Stand and Deliver, the watching of which Dame Darcy says "broke her" in terms of setting in stone her idea of the dandy highwayman in the place of idealized masculinity.
Please check out her website at damedarcy.com for info about her books, fine art, dolls, film, music and upcoming projects including "Meat Cake presents Voyage of Temptress"--a mutli-media video and story project.
and please check dresscodecracker.com for a million pictures and links to all things meatcake, voyage of temptress, pirate mermaid and Dame Darcy!
Thanks for listening~
