Machine Dazzle

Machine Dazzle (born 1972) is the stage name of Matthew Flower, an American costume designer, set designer, performance artist and drag queen known for his excessive and fantastical camp, surrealist, queer and maximalist approach.

Early life Machine Dazzle was born Matthew Flower, in 1972 in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania.

Flower attended and graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, earning a degree in art. In 1994 he moved to New York City and joined the Dazzle Dancers. He spent this time working a myriad of day jobs, including a position as a jewelry designer and at the non-profit cultural center Exit Art, to support his growing fascination with designing extravagant costumes to wear at night in New York City's clubs such as CBGB and Jackie 60.

Career Flower is known for utilizing novelty items or found objects such as ping pong balls, slinkies, soup cans, and rubber hotdogs into his costume work.

He was a co-recipient the 2017 Bessie Award for Outstanding Visual Design and the winner of a 2017 Henry Hewes Design Award.

In 2016, Taylor Mac's A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, which Flower heavily collaborated on, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. presented his Ouroboros in collaboration with the U of M Stamps School of Art and Design after he was awarded the recipient of the Design Roman J. Witt Residency Program. Ouroboros is a queer maximalist art exhibit made with the help of community members from locally sourced recycled materials. Ouroboros was introduced during UMMA's Pride Month and morphs as the installation progresses in three acts, culminating in its final act as "wearable sculptures" during 2024's LGBTQ Pride Month. Flower performed at the Ann Arbor Michigan Theater on March 14, 2024 to talk about maximalism in addition to his exhibit installation.

Works

Plays Works with costume and/or stage designs by Machine Dazzle