18.12.11

INSPIRATION: JAMES BIDGOOD

I'm so excited about this post!!! ...what makes it better is that off the top of my head, I can think of a couple of friends out there (James and Adele, I'm def talking bout YOU!) who will share my love for it! Hope you do too...

It's always a sweet day when you find out about someone you should have always known about, but never did. I came across James Bidgood's work not long ago when he was cited in some article as inspiration/reference for both Pierre et Gilles and David Lachapelle - all of who I greatly admire - so naturally, I was curious to learn more.

Bidgood has been named the "father of the pulp and glamour aesthetic" so what I find to be the best thing about the following images is not exactly what they look like (even though they're absolutely WONDERFUL) but the fact that each image is on average about 50 years old,and came out before an aesthetic like this (or photoshop) actually existed. INNOVATOR!!!

From the book I bought about him:
"As out of date as his preciosity may be in erotic media, its sensibility has found its way into more mainstream channels. The hypnogogic imagery of today's rock videos parallels Bidgood's penchant for building narrative by visual associations. Pierre et Gilles, the French team of photographers who are known for their opaque pseudo-portraits of celebrities and beautiful men, have borrowed aspects of Bidgood's iconography. But for better or worse, the use of digital photography by these new image-makers has permanently outmoded the methods to which Bidgood resorted for his effects."

Check it out!!!

__bidgoodfront


bidgood13


bidgood3


bidgood14

Couldn't help myself... had to add the stars

bidgood9


bidgood51

peacock

_amazing

"The underwater atmosphere is completely fabricated; the bottom of the ocean was created with silver lame spread across the floor of Bidgood's apartment; he made the arch of a cave out of waxed paper, and fashioned red lame into the shape of lobster. He coated Garvin with mineral oil and pasted glitter and sequins to his skin so the silver fabric under photographic lights would reflect on his body like water. For weeks at a time, Bigood would eat and sleep within the sets he constructed in his apartment"

From Water Colors (early 60s)
__double

bidgood4 copy

"Pink Narcissus is Bidgood's long-term, obsessive homage to the young, male body. With the judicious use of lenses and angles, Bidgood created multiple fantasy worlds out of severely restricted spaces. Everything - from the double exposures to the recycled, souped-up furniture - was created from the most rudimentary resources."

__pink

"Fans, turntables and other small mechanical tools were used to animate objects such as a butterfly, a caterpillar and moving clouds. Devices often substituted for lack of crew - blowing curtains, turning lights on and off or moving props when there was no one else but Bidgood on the set."

1964bidgood

bidgood1


Image source: My Camera. New obsession: making images circular shaped!

12 comments:

Adele Pierri said...

OMG so inspiring!! That book looks awesome and the garden shots really complement it! Yaaayyy. Now more! (you know I keep checking haha) xxx

Andrea Antoniou said...

your blog is so lovely by the ways, i will be visiting it again very soon :)


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Naina said...

These are some pretty rad photos!

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Wynne Prasetyo said...

these pictures are so artistic, love them


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cocorosa said...

Super Inspiration!! Love the glitter bodies!

fabulousjunk said...

these are the best pictures ever. i mean ever...

becks
http://fabulous-junk.blogspot.com

Rianna said...

Thanks for inspiring me with something new. Some great imagery here

x


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Sister Wolf said...

I JUST NOW discovered him and while goggling I was led here. I fucking love him. I swear I am a gay man trapped in a woman's body.

Luxi said...

wow this is all film?! AMAZING,,,! the glitter the dixx,,the fact that it was a sheet in someones apartment. I love underwater photos and these aren't even.! so many colours and your mans bulge in the last photo,. me o my !

THANXXX

LuvLux
xxx

Alicia - Sea Of Ghosts said...

It's crazy when someone really is an innovator behind an entire genre of art and style and yet is still so relatively underground. Thanks for sharing his work!

Re: photos, yep all on my iPhone - I got the new 4S the day it came out, the camera is freaking incredible.

x

Peps said...

Pink, gold, glitter and huge dildos. Gotta love this!