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The Light Fantastic

Ever wonder where Pierre et Gilles found the inspiration for their wildly stylized, hand-painted photographs? Look no further than James Bidgood, whose epic series of fantastical erotic photography is on full, lush display in Taschen’s 25th anniversary re-release of its coffee table bio/photo monograph James Bidgood (out now).

Born in 1933, the young gay man found his artistic way when he moved to New York City in the early 1950s and began designing stage sets and debutante gowns as well as performing in drag. Bidgood collected materials from his day jobs to construct elaborate sets in his midtown Manhattan apartment. The resulting photos present a hypnotic, homoerotic wonderland of naked-from-the-waist-down construction workers, football players and hot dog vendors that’s bursting with oversaturated color.

Now 76 and still living in NYC, Bidgood has been a bit of a forgotten figure in gay iconography. This definitive collection — which includes stills of his subversive 1971 film Pink Narcissus — ought to go a long way towards correcting that.


Bidgood (25th Anniversary edition) is available now from Taschen.