Within the Sixties, New York Metropolis’s underground homosexual scene was bustling. But the images that emerged from this pre-Stonewall milieu is seldom exhibited publicly. Fortunate for us, CLAMP has risen to the event with Dreamlands, a riveting summer season exhibition of images by an undersung hero of that scene, James Bidgood.
A jack of all trades, the artist, who died in 2022 on the age of 88, carried out in drag within the East Village, designed robes for Higher East Facet society women, dressed division retailer home windows in Midtown, and took pictures for thinly veiled queer muscle and physique magazines offered in Greenwich Village. However a few of his most cherished works right now are his lush homoerotic pictures.
Within the Sixties, Bidgood started to promote the pictures by mail order, sending out 30 shade prints or 30 slides for $20. It was a standard apply — quite a few male physique publications additionally supplied unique pictures by way of mail that had been too risqué to print and publish publicly. Bidgood’s work stood out for its creative sensibility and saturated shade, in addition to his subject material: He portrayed younger males with phantasmagorical aplomb, typically as mythological figures, going towards the grain of the beefcake sensibility dominant on the time. Half a century later, his work continues to be compelling for its uniquely dreamy environment. For instance, in “Bruce Kirkman Leaning on Willow Tree” (1965), a male nymph-like determine leans towards a willow tree amid a fantastical panorama.
James Bidgood, “Bruce Kirkman Leaning on Willow Tree” (1965)
As Bidgood defined to the New York Occasions in 2011, “Playboy had girls in furs, feathers and lights. They had faces like beautiful angels. I didn’t understand why boy pictures weren’t like that.” He constructed elaborate units in his cramped Occasions Sq. condo, match his fashions with beautiful costumes, fastidiously utilized make-up, and soaked his scenes with pink, lavender, and cerulean to make the ethereal photos he needed to see.
Bidgood is finest identified for his magnum opus, the queer cult movie Pink Narcissus (1971). This exhibition affords a uncommon alternative to dwell upon his lesser identified however equally alluring pictures.
James Bidgood, “Harlequins and Stained Glass Window” (mid Sixties)
James Bidgood, “Bobby Nude from Below, First Cover (Bobby Kendall)” (early Sixties)
James Bidgood, “Black Cat Looking Over Left Shoulder” (late Sixties)
Set up view of James Bidgood: Dreamlands at CLAMP, New York
James Bidgood: Dreamlands continues at CLAMP (247 West twenty ninth Avenue, Chelsea, Manhattan) by August 29. The exhibition was organized by the gallery.
