James Bidgood (born March 28, 1933 in Madison, Wisconsin)
is a pioneer who did not use canvas or paper nor sculpted,
but used a camera to produce groundbreaking photos and movies,
he still remains an inspiration for the likes of Pierre and Gilles,

and David La Chapelle:

he started his carreer in the fifties as departmentstore windowdresser in NYC,
but soon was asked to make sets and clothing for theater.
for his own pleasure he worked with the boys he adored and picked up from the streets
(quite risky in the early sixties)
in his tiny appartment, which was overflowing with carpets, leathers,
self stitched see through briefs, uniforms, curtains, lace, velvet, veils, steel wire, rope, lights,
what have you . . .
He was uncompromising,
so the release of his masterpiece the movie trailered below took years to release,
as he never agreed with any cuts or edits, the publishers wanted.
In the end they released it without his permission, with "anonymous" as author and director.
here's a lovingly restored (but p.g.) clip:

He's still alive today and in 1999 a gorgeous and huge book of movie stills was released by Taschen.


And he did some commission work for Advocate.

please send comments or suggestions to me
to the next entry, planned for saturday august 9th
or back to the calendar overview