Violet Chachki on the Art of Drag

As the music video for “Whatever Violet Wants” begins, a figure quickly pulls back curtains to reveal a startling silhouette: a glowing white background accentuates a corseted waist and the contours of a rockabilly hairdo, and faintly highlights what we learn a few frames later is a leather harness cupping bare breasts. Violet Chachki has arrived. Pay attention.

Chachki—drag queen, model, recording artist, and winner of season seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race—wrote on Instagram shortly after the video’s release that it is a celebration of the French Surrealist artist Pierre Molinier’s work and ideas. This opening scene—which mirrors Molinier’s photograph Le Chaman—is just one moment where this connection becomes clear.

Molinier originally trained as a painter, but is best known for his erotic imagery. He photographed himself—often dressed in corsets and fishnets, holding fetish accessories, or wearing masks—then copied and cut out the images of his body and reassembled them into a single montaged image. “Whatever Violet Wants” brings Molinier’s work to life, recreating and animating the tangle of limbs and fetishistic imagery in an entirely new context.

I recently spoke to Chachki about the making of the music video, the art of drag, and how Molinier and other modern artists influence her work.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Pierre Molinier. Le Chaman. 1965

A still from Violet Chachki’s “Whatever Violet Wants” video

Isabel Custodio: Take me through the genesis of this project. How did you choose “Whatever Violet Wants”?

Violet Chachki: I’ve always loved the Sarah Vaughan cover of “Whatever Lola Wants.” I think I first heard it in the movie Kinky Boots, which is about a drag queen who opens a shoe factory in the UK. It’s a very drag, sort of fetishy song about getting what you want and being confident. My drag character is very dominant and domineering, and that’s a quality that I am inspired by. When I see strong, confident women who really know what they want and get what they want, that’s the kind of woman that inspires my drag, so putting a new spin on “Whatever Lola Wants” and doing “Whatever Violet Wants” felt very appropriate.

You’ve said that this video is a celebration of the artist Pierre Molinier’s ideas. How do you see the themes of his work in relation to your drag?

I’ve always been into subcultures. In the ’50s and ’60s, what Pierre Molinier was doing was super subculture—he was taking self-portraits, it was very private, very intimate. I think that’s actually how I started my drag—in my bedroom, taking MacBook self-portraits. There’s something really intimate about getting in drag in your bedroom in the safety of your own home. Especially for me, as a 16-year-old or a 17-year-old taking self-portraiture. That’s one of the ways that I see me and Molinier’s work overlap.

I also identify with his surreal aspects. I think his work has a real escapism to it, which is another thing that I love about drag. You literally get to escape and become someone else and go into a different world. The surreal aspect that Molinier brings into his pieces transports you. The fact that he was doing them before Photoshop—cutting up negatives and creating these surreal images by hand—is just so cool to me. I discovered him right around the time that I was getting into drag and getting into celebrating my feminine side and getting into escapism as a form of therapy.

I see myself in him a lot. I think there’s something really exciting about fetish gear and high heels. He would use a lot of props and fetish imagery—there’s something counterculture and taboo about it. I always have been excited by taboo things, especially growing up, going to Catholic school. And I think that was something that he thought was exciting as well, being a bit naughty, I guess. You’re not supposed to do these things, so you do them in private.

You were able to use some of Molinier’s actual props in the video. How did that opportunity come about? Were you working with his estate?

There was actually an auction a few years ago of his estate, and there were so many props, and shoes, and masks, and everything. I was devastated because I wasn’t in Paris to go to the auction and buy something, because that would be my dream, to own one of the props. Everyone in Paris was going crazy for it at the time, and I think the props just got bought out by everybody and dispersed around Paris. I know Christian Louboutin bought some stuff.

I don’t know exactly who we bought the props from, but it was one of the video’s director’s friends who was at the auction and bought a bunch of the props. We were so, so lucky to have some of the actual pieces. It was so cool to be able to wear them. And, of course, we handled them with great care and respect. But I’m hoping one day I’ll be able to purchase a prop of his myself.

“Whatever Violet Wants”

Throughout the video, you go back and forth between being in and out of drag. It almost gives you another character: a desirer and a desired. Can you walk me through the decision to portray yourself that way?

I think it’s nice to showcase yourself as you are. Drag queens are celebrated so much on stage and when we’re presenting as our most creative selves. But it is jarring being onstage in front of 5,000 people, and then—it’s really cliché—but you go back to your hotel and you’re all alone. It’s difficult to be celebrated in drag and then be way less celebrated out of drag. I think I’m also making a conscious decision as I get older to take time for myself and to celebrate myself without makeup—to showcase my natural beauty, I guess, even for my own enjoyment, and to document myself outside of drag and where I’m at in my boy self. Even just posting a boy selfie on Instagram, I lose, usually, thousands of followers. So it is an interesting conversation to think about.

I can just hear the video’s director, Ali Mahdavi, in his thick French accent: “You are such a beautiful boy as well.” [In the video] he made the decision to start off out of drag, and then get a little distorted in the middle, and then toward the end in more full high drag. I think that adds a surreal element that’s in touch with Molinier’s. There’s even one part where there are two of me out of drag, licking myself in drag.

Unlike your video for “A Lot More Me,” where these intricate, colorful sets play such an important role, your video for “Whatever Violet Wants,” like a lot of Molinier’s work, really came together in post-production. Can you talk about that process and how you wanted the video to visually echo Molinier’s work?

I never thought of taking one of Molinier’s images and making it move. And that was Ali’s idea, to take his work and make it even more interesting as a video, because we’ve only seen his work as a still before. So, it was definitely a struggle, and it took a very, very long time, and lots of convincing and throwing money at it. It was definitely difficult to get the post-production correct. Like I said, it’s not the most CGI-gorgeous stuff either, but again, I think that lends itself to Molinier’s work. Even just all the green screen work and getting my lips to be separated and then getting me to kiss myself, it is a lot of finessing. I mean, I’m not Beyoncé. I don’t have, like, endless amounts of post-production money either. But it’s nice because Molinier’s work is a little DIY and a little cut-and-paste. In his work you can really see the scissor snips and all those things. I like that the video echoes that.

From left: “Whatever Violet Wants”; Pierre Molinier. Le Double. 1966

You’ve said that drag is all about taking references from pop culture and flipping them on their heads. You’ve specifically cited Erté, Tom of Finland, Busby Berkeley, John Willie, and Dita Von Teese as inspirations. These aren’t pop culture figures that you’re going to find in a lot of mainstream discussions. I’m curious where you first encountered these figures and where you continue to find inspiration for your work.

I am a child of the Internet. Tumblr is really what changed the game for me. I got exposed to things in print as well. I remember seeing Heatherette in my friend’s Teen Vogue, and little things like that. But what took it off for me was the Internet. I would see something on Tumblr that I liked, and it would have a little caption. Then I would Google the caption, and then I would find more stuff. And it just kept building and building.

And then even with Tumblr, you can like something. So you have an archive of all these things that you’ve discovered. I still, to this day, will go back to my old Tumblr, even though there’s lots of vintage porn that has been removed, and the smutty stuff I liked—John Willie or Tom of Finland—is no longer allowed on Tumblr.

And I hate that I’m saying “the Internet,” because I’m really old school. And I do not relate to the youth of today, as far as TikTok and what today’s version of Tumblr, Instagram, or MySpace would be. I was at the right place at the right time as far as the Internet is concerned.

You’re using references that feel very sexually progressive and very unafraid of displaying queer identity. It feels relevant to a lot of the most eye-roll-inducing parts of Pride discourse, specifically about kink. What I love is that you seem to put your stake in the ground and you’re saying, “This is me. I’m in charge of this, and I’m not even going to entertain this conversation.”

Yeah. The same conversation happens around drag. There are certain events where people think that it should be a family-friendly drag event. Of course, that’s not what this is about for me. I think the way the world works is that there are cultural differences and subcultures. Some things are not for everyone, and some things are inappropriate for other people to partake in. And I think that that is more than okay. I think that’s a positive thing. For me, drag is my therapy. Drag is something that I do to escape, to relieve, to celebrate. It’s not necessarily for your children. It’s for me. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You can’t sanitize queer people. It’s not a thing. I mean, not if I’m around.

I think about the Sex and the City episode where one of them loses her shoes. She’s like, “What about me? What do I get for not having children? What do I get for not getting married?” There are so many rewards for people who are married and have children. And there should be nothing wrong with being single, having no children, and wanting to design your life that way. The fact that everyone who does have children wants you to think about their children when you’re making your everyday decisions—it’s like, give me a break. Even as drag queens, we get flak from conservatives because parents will bring their children to drag shows and drag events. Then all of a sudden these conservative people are yelling at us. I’m like, “This isn’t my kid. I didn’t bring them.” This has nothing to do with me. I just hate how it has become everyone’s responsibility to parent other people’s children. That’s not my responsibility, darling.

Right, and I think that ties back into Molinier’s work and life. I know that he initially was involved with other Surrealist artists. André Breton invited him into his circle, but his work was deemed too radical, too queer. Eventually they parted ways, and Molinier basically worked on his own. What’s interesting is you’re doing the opposite in a way. You’re taking an art form that has been underfunded and undervalued, and entering these very traditional, elite institutions like the Met Gala and Fashion Week. I’m wondering if you see this as a final chapter of Molinier’s legacy—reappropriating these images, but in a totally different social context.

It’s interesting you bring that up because I feel like I’m dealing with a similar scenario. For instance, booking a beauty campaign. A lot of drag queens have gotten beauty deals, but it seems like the nature of my work—whether it be Molinier posing in lingerie or corsets, or something else—is a bit more provocative than, say, your average storyteller drag queen. Brands and companies are more willing to give work to more palatable, commercial drag performers who can appeal to the widest audience possible. But you are right in saying that I have brought my style of drag and pro-sex style to these spaces. I think the art world can respect it way more, and I consider the fashion world to be a part of that. But there’s not a lot of money in fashion or art. These days, making money is really about selling products. But I think the art and fashion worlds can see the artistic value in what I do and in what Molinier did—in hindsight now, of course.

Pierre Molinier. Hanel 1, planche 30 du Chaman (plate 30 of The Shaman). 1967

From left: “Whatever Violet Wants”; Pierre Molinier. Etoile des Six. 1965

Drag feels like the most personal and all-consuming art form. You’re responsible for the complete invention and presentation of a persona. I’m wondering if this makes evolution harder as an artist. Does it ever feel like it’s difficult to experiment because there’s an expectation of who Violet Chachki is, and what a Violet Chachki show might look like?

I don’t like to experiment too much, for a couple of reasons. One is that there are just so many drag queens. And there are a lot of drag queens who I don’t think would’ve doing drag even five or six years ago. The acceptance level and the work in the industry has come so far in such a short amount of time that it has become completely oversaturated. So you really have to pick something and stick with it, because you’re bound to get mistaken for someone else. That’s the worst feeling—it has happened to me so many times, where I’m out at an event and I get mistaken for another drag queen.

So you have to have a style and stick with it, and be the best at it. That’s what I try to do: know who I am, and deliver at all times. At the end of the day, show business is a business, and it costs. Drag is really expensive, and you have to stand out if you want to get work and be the best in whatever style you’re doing. Drag, for me, is not a forever thing. Glamour and escapism are the principles that I will always be in search of, whether it’s drag or a different sort of creative outlet. I’m trying to get all of the things I want to do done while I still have interest in the art form.

You have said that your Digital Follies show, for example, is allowing you to document a very specific point in your career. I’m wondering how this relates to your use of references and your sources of inspiration, because so many of them come from an era when documentation, at least relative to now, was scarce. Are you thinking about the documentation you’ve missed from these sources or what you’re leaving for the future?

Yeah. I think that I also like to come back to things and do them better. For example, I did an Erté number in 2012, but it was horrible because I didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t have the experience of drag to execute the vision. And so I constantly revisit ideas and try to do them better.

For me, documentation is super important. I am planning on doing a book at some point. I also want to have a lot of footage, so we’re constantly taking behind-the-scenes videos. Of course, there’s also the wardrobe. I feel like I’m running a small museum with these clothes—keeping track and taking care of everything is such a chore, and making sure all of that stuff is preserved and documented. It is important to me to archive everything and to sort of check all the boxes of the things that I want to do and document them properly. One day, maybe there’ll be a retrospective. I have no idea.