Celluloid Drag, Sonic Disguise: Katharina Sieverding, Kraftwerk, and Glam

A recent surge of interest in early 1970s glam culture makes this an opportune time to unpack a critical turning point in the late 1960s that ushered in the era of glam: a rarely seen film, Life-Death (1969), by the German artist Katharina Sieverding. Life-Death is remarkable both for its anticipation of glam's trademark aesthetic via intimate portraits of Sieverding and two cross-dressing performers and for the film's score, made by the then relatively unknown electronic group Kraftwerk.