Fund This: James Bidgood’s Art

James Bidgood may not be a household name for most, but this gay artist's refusal to play it safe during a tumultuous time in gay history is one of the reasons he's somewhat unheard of.

Bidgood's IndieGoGo campaign is in its final days and he still needs help raising funds so he can buy a professional camera and materials to continue his life's work.

At 17 Bidgood bussed to New York and began working as a performer and costume designer. After attending Parsons, he started pursuing photography and used his elaborate costumes as sets for some of his shoots. His cult film, Pink Narcissus, was originally credited to "Anonymous," and is often thought to be a work of other gay trailblazers of the time.

A few years ago, Bidgood was featured in Out's annual Love portfolio, sharing personal photos from his intense relationship with Alan Blair. He recently told Vice that the reason he's so uncompromising is because he doesn't think his work is very good, so he pushes himself that much harder. Explaining that, with the money from his IndieGoGo campaign, he'll produce a "new series about real love affairs of gay people," but he'll be telling them from a fairytale point of view.

Perks for donating include Pink Narcissus T-shirts, limited edition cards featuring Bobby Kendall, and the option of having Bidgood use your own profile to make a unique print. The campaign closes on January 16, so donate now.

Donate here.