The cult leader of camp: david bowie

“References to David Bowie and Camp, center on his Ziggy Stardust period (1972-1973). Notable Bowie biographer Nicholas Pegg, in his book The Complete David Bowie (2009) writes that: He was doing something far more fundamental: he was embracing the spirit of Camp according to its truest definition, which is not about sex but about the elevation of the aesthetic above the purely practical. Just so, David‘s relentless habit of editing his personality, appearance, vocabulary and frames of reference to present a succession of new‘ Bowies, each fashioned for effect and exclusivity, follows the manifesto of Camp established by Oscar Wilde and Susan Sontag. Camp invested Bowie/Ziggy with a useful air of ironic detachment, placing the received image of the star on a pedestal aloof from the mundane reality of studio sessions, tour buses, and the wife and baby at home.”

“Not only does Bowie inadvertently connect the Camp aesthetic to Glam rock, he attaches Camp to his image.”

‘David’s present image is to come on like a swishy queen, a gorgeously effeminate boy. He’s as camp as a row of tents, with his limp hand and trolling vocabulary.”

Janina Ann Vela 2010

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