Episode 033: Do The Thing You Wanna Do {Midori Tajiri-Byrd}

Midori Tajiri-Byrd is a master at juggling multiple creative pursuits. As a descendant of Japanese samurai, she grew up in a family of artists and attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. These days, she makes her living as a professiona…

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Midori Tajiri-Byrd is a master at juggling multiple creative pursuits. As a descendant of Japanese samurai, she grew up in a family of artists and attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. These days, she makes her living as a professional makeup artist and she performs drag as LibeRaunchy the BeauxQueen.

I met Midori while we were doing Cycle 2 of the New Orleans Drag Workshop in 2014. We recorded this episode in her art studio, where we were joined by local photographer Jason Kruppa.

 

Find Midori Tajiri-Byrd online:

 

Other people & resources mentioned in this episode:

  • In Episode 1, I talk about my experience participating in the New Orleans Drag Workshop, and in Episode 4, I interview Vinsantos, the Head Mister-ess of the New Orleans Drag Workshop.

  • Photographer Jason Kruppa joined us for this episode. Find him on Instagram at @kruppaphoto.

  • Midori talks about her artistic family who are descendants of the Taira clan of samurai. Midori’s grandfather, Vince Tajiri, was the photo editor for Playboy Magazine during the 1960s, and her aunt Rea Tajiri is a well-known Japanese American video artist, filmmaker and screenwriter. She is also related to Shinkichi Tajiri, a prominent Japanese American sculptor who resided in the Netherlands from 1956 onwards. Much of her family was interned by the United States Government and served in the 442nd Infantry Regiment during World War II.

  • Learn more about Midori’s tattoo at NOLA.com.

 

Special thanks to:

Eric Laws + Morella & The Wheels Of If for composing the show's theme music

This episode was edited by Mo Calderon of Mo Explores Media.

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