Is Ziggy Stardust Camp?: David Bowie As A Case Study In Music And Camp
type: CreativeWork
description: David Bowie’s performance style and image during his “Stardust Years” (1972-1973) are widely considered as exemplifying a Camp aesthetic. With few exceptions (Buckley, 1993), all consider his image, the persona Ziggy Stardust, as being Camp and specific discussions of his music as Camp are lacking. Indeed, most sources lump Bowie’s music and image together when referring to him as Camp but only use the visual aspects to draw examples of Camp. Nevertheless, Freya Jarman-Ivens’ “Notes on Musical Camp” (2009) is a recent source that attempts to locate the camp aesthetic “in the music” as well as in the performance style and image. Applying Jarman-Ivens’ methodology to David Bowie’s “Let’s Spend the Night Together” (1973), I will locate Camp in this musical performance, highlighting specific traits, as described by Jarman-Ivens, which elicit a reading of the Camp aesthetic. Using two of Bowie’s songs “Ziggy Stardust” and “John, I’m Only Dancing,” I will also attempt to separate the visual aspects from a musical performance, in order to search for Camp strictly in the music. The significance of my thesis is to validate Jarman-Ivans’ study and her methodology on locating a Camp aesthetic in a musical performance.
abstract: David Bowie’s performance style and image during his “Stardust Years” (1972-1973) are widely considered as exemplifying a Camp aesthetic. With few exceptions (Buckley, 1993), all consider his image, the persona Ziggy Stardust, as being Camp and specific discussions of his music as Camp are lacking. Indeed, most sources lump Bowie’s music and image together when referring to him as Camp but only use the visual aspects to draw examples of Camp. Nevertheless, Freya Jarman-Ivens’ “Notes on Musical Camp” (2009) is a recent source that attempts to locate the camp aesthetic “in the music” as well as in the performance style and image. Applying Jarman-Ivens’ methodology to David Bowie’s “Let’s Spend the Night Together” (1973), I will locate Camp in this musical performance, highlighting specific traits, as described by Jarman-Ivens, which elicit a reading of the Camp aesthetic. Using two of Bowie’s songs “Ziggy Stardust” and “John, I’m Only Dancing,” I will also attempt to separate the visual aspects from a musical performance, in order to search for Camp strictly in the music. The significance of my thesis is to validate Jarman-Ivans’ study and her methodology on locating a Camp aesthetic in a musical performance.
author: Vela, Janina Ann
language: en
keywords: music, camps, Bowie, David, Ziggy Stardust
identifier: Vela, J. A. (2010). Is Ziggy Stardust camp?: David Bowie as a case study in music and camp [Master's thesis, Texas State University-San Marcos].
date published: 2010-12
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:19:24Z
provider: Texas Digital Library
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Texas Digital Library

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10877/2479