The Dreamlike Homoerotic Art of James Bidgood

In the 1960s, New York City’s underground gay scene was bustling. Yet the photography that emerged from this pre-Stonewall milieu is seldom exhibited publicly. Lucky for us, CLAMP has risen to the occasion with Dreamlands, a riveting summer exhibition of photography by an undersung hero of that scene, James Bidgood.

A jack of all trades, the artist, who died in 2022 at the age of 88, performed in drag in the East Village, designed gowns for Upper East Side society ladies, dressed department store windows in Midtown, and took photographs for thinly veiled queer muscle and physique magazines sold in Greenwich Village. But some of his most cherished works today are his lush homoerotic photographs.

In the 1960s, Bidgood began to sell the images by mail order, sending out 30 color prints or 30 slides for $20. It was a common practice — numerous male physique publications also offered exclusive photos via mail that were too risqué to print and publish publicly. Bidgood’s work stood out for its artistic sensibility and saturated color, as well as his subject matter: He portrayed young men with phantasmagorical aplomb, often as mythological figures, going against the grain of the beefcake sensibility dominant at the time. Half a century later, his work is still compelling for its uniquely dreamy atmosphere. For example, in “Bruce Kirkman Leaning on Willow Tree” (1965), a male nymph-like figure leans against a willow tree amid a fantastical landscape.

As Bidgood explained to the New York Times 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 built elaborate sets in his cramped Times Square apartment, fit his models with exquisite costumes, fastidiously applied makeup, and soaked his scenes with pink, lavender, and cerulean to make the ethereal pictures he wanted to see.

Bidgood is best known for his magnum opus, the queer cult film Pink Narcissus (1971). This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to dwell upon his lesser known but equally alluring photographs.

James Bidgood: Dreamlands continues at CLAMP (247 West 29th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan) through August 29. The exhibition was organized by the gallery.