Tom Bianchi

I couldn't do this series without something from Ted Bianchi's Fire Island Pines work.

 

Tom Bianchi Polaroids III

Today will be my third series of the Fire Island Polaroids (with one possible exception) done 

by Tom Bianchi.  These images chronicle the time on the eve of the AIDS epidemic when 

liberation and free sex were in the air.  We start with a handsome man on a small bed.

 

Lynes influence?

Is this influenced by George Platt Lynes, or was the model too shy to show his face?

I suppose Tom Bianchi might just have been experimenting.

 

Wow!

Even if we didn't know this was done with a quirky Polaroid camera, 

we'd have to call it remarkable.  The shading, light, and the pose are all superb.

 

After a time, Tom Bianchi moved from Polaroids to conventional film, and this

 may be an example of the latter.  The online auction house offering it made no claims

 as to provenance other than that it was an "undated work by Tom Bianchi."

 

Crowd scene

Those of us of a certain age will remember scenes such as this.

A lost time, and so many lost lives.

 

On the Horizon

I left the original caption on this photo and one other in todays series because it adds provenance.  

Also, this one is symbolic of the catastrophe that was just over the horizon.

 

Couple with camera

The orange tones and setting of this one make me think of Playgirl,

but of course the sharpness element doesn't quite get us to that level.

 

Flamingos

Perhaps Tom Bianchi only had black and white film available with this photo of a man and some flamingos was made.  I can't imagine him willingly passing up the pink element.

 

Splinter

Our last Tom Bianchi polaroid is simply called "Splinter."

 

Tom Bianchi's Fire Island Pines Polaroids

Those of us of a certain age remember the period of 1975-1983 as an era when gay men began to culturally assert themselves and become an open part of the American social scene.  Free love, 

discos, trips to the beach, Gay Liberation meetings, and so much more were part of our lives, and 

Tom Bianchi recorded some of this in a series of Polaroid photos he took on Fire Island.  And then AIDS happened.  Today we go back to a carefree time on the verge of a catastrophe that left us 

stronger, but with such awful losses . . . too many in my life for me to even list here.  

 

 

Sunbather

This guy in a turquoise speedo is getting some rays.

 

Odd embrace

The cropping here appears to be more artistic than an effort to conceal someone's identity.

 

Clone?

It took me a moment to notice that the subject of this photo is sitting against a mirror.

He has a quintessential mid-70s look that some called "clone" and others admired.

 

Window light

I'm wondering if the guy in this shot got caught napping.

 

Drying off

Even though a lot of the subject of this photo is covered up,

Bianchi somehow managed to capture a very sexy image.

 

Keeping fit

Staying in shape was an obsession with some of the Fire Island crowd,

but a lot of them hadn't reached the age when they needed to worry too much.

 

TV

I wonder what was on TV . . . or if he cared.

 

Amazing

The fact that Tom Bianchi achieved this color, light, 

and composition with a Polaroid camera just amazes me.

 

"Keep well your memories. They're all that's left you." - - - Paul Simon

I'm closing out the Fire Island Pines series with a photo that's playful and a bit serious at the 

same time.  Before you move on and tackle your day, remember that according to Tom Bianchi 

himself, fully half or more of the beautiful men on these pages were lost to the AIDS epidemic.  

The images should remind us all to take nothing for granted in the present and to hold close our 

loved ones and our memories of the past.  At some point they may be all you have left.