Leather Archives & Museum: 25 Years

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PREFACE O ur collective, personal, and institutional histories and memories are material, embodied, and linguistic. Objects, however, deteriorate over time. The body eventually expires. And language is often unstable. History and memory, then, are never static or definitive. The stories we tell ourselves often shift and change depending on their context -- when their told and under what circumstances. Our histories and collective memories are always dynamic and subject to critical commentary, re/vision, and retelling. The institutional memory of the Leather Archives & Museum is similarly complex and any attempt to encapsulate a quarter century of institutional life will always be partial, in both senses of the word. This catalog, Leather Archives & Museum: 25 Years, is not intended as a comprehensive account of the archival, programmatic, and exhibition history of the LA&M. The occasion of our 25 th Anniversary, however, affords us an opportunity to pause and reflect on this institution’s trajectory – where it’s been, where it is, and what it might become – as well as highlight a handful of stops along its unfolding narrative. In Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity (2009), the late queer and performance theorist Jose Esteban Munoz suggests that in order to imagine and envision a (queer) future, we must perform the simultaneous double-optics of looking back and gazing forward in the present moment. In this catalog we attempt to do that through its form and content. We also recognize the importance of multiple ‘gazings’ and include the critical reflections and meditations of various contributors. Leather Archives & Museum: 25 Years is organized into four sections. The “Introduction” includes statements by Founder and President, Chuck Renslow, and Executive Director, Rick Storer. “Looking Back” is a collection of essays by cultural anthropologist and founding board member, Dr. Gayle Rubin, Toronto-based community volunteer, Dwight Skeates, and Archivist and Collections Librarian, Jakob VanLammeren. This section also includes a photo essay by Patron Services Representative, José Santiago Pérez. “Looking Forward” attempts to lay the groundwork for envisioning the LA&M’s possible futures by surveying present or recent institutional milestones and achievements. In “Gratitude” we end this ‘partial telling’ by reflecting and acknowledging the fierce commitment, passion, dedication, and contributions of those that support the LA&M’s mission to collect, preserve, maintain, and exhibit our leather histories. The sections that comprise Leather Archives & Museum: 25 Years are a testament of how far we’ve come since the LA&M’s inception at the International Mr. Leather contest in 1992. What began as Chuck Renslow’s mission to preserve the legacy and memory of Dom Orejudos/ Etienne and leather history amidst the AIDS crisis has now evolved into a respected and professional institution at the forefront of Leather/kink/BDSM/fetish scholarship, research, and collections. Currently these materials are comprised of artifacts, objects, letters, documents, art- 12
works, published materials, leathers, ephemera, and stories. We can only dream what the future holds—the continual shifts and evolutions in identity, codes, and subcultures within alternative and radical sex communities will generate collections and materials we cannot yet begin to imagine. What we are sure of is that, with your continued support, the Leather Archives & Museum will thrive in its mission and vision to preserve this future history for generations of kinky people to come. Jakob VanLammeren and José Santiago Pérez Editors 13
Page 2 and 3: 2
Page 4 and 5: 4
Page 6 and 7: 6
Page 8 and 9: Copyright © 2016 by the Leather Ar
Page 10 and 11: CONTENTS Excerpt from “Report fro
Page 14 and 15: 14
Page 16 and 17: 16
Page 18 and 19: tossing our history into dumpsters.
Page 20 and 21: 20
Page 22 and 23: 22
Page 24 and 25: 24
Page 26 and 27: undertook a dissertation project on
Page 28 and 29: of such institutions for sexually m
Page 30 and 31: inventory of what they had stored i
Page 32 and 33: positions. He was later, along with
Page 34 and 35: 34
Page 36 and 37: dreamed of, revelling unashamedly i
Page 38 and 39: Chuck Renslow, Kris Studios, Intern
Page 40 and 41: FROM THE LA&M COLLECTIONS: A PHOTO
Page 42 and 43: 42
Page 44 and 45: 44
Page 46 and 47: 46
Page 48 and 49: 48
Page 50 and 51: 50
Page 52 and 53: 52
Page 54 and 55: 54
Page 56 and 57: BDSM/leather/alternative sex commun
Page 58 and 59: 58
Page 60 and 61: 60
Page 62 and 63:
THE FUTURE The future of the LA&M i
Page 64 and 65:
COLLECTIONS HIGHLIGHT: SAILOR SID P
Page 66 and 67:
etary and on the Newsletter Committ
Page 68 and 69:
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: GENERAL RESEAR
Page 70 and 71:
they negotiate, play, and live a BD
Page 72 and 73:
72
Page 74 and 75:
A community archive documents, reco
Page 76 and 77:
Current Members and Donors $5,000 o
Page 78 and 79:
Doc Duhon Dr. Robert Wall Eric Kuge
Page 80 and 81:
25 Years of Board of Directors *Chu
Page 82 and 83:
25 YEARS OF STAFF Joseph Bean Execu
Page 84 and 85:
Justin Oliver Hartman Community Vol
Page 86 and 87:
86
Page 88 and 89:
88
Page 90 and 91:
seum, Chicago Illinois USA. [Page,
Page 92 and 93:
52. Dungeon Master, No. 35, 1988. P
Page 94 and 95:
88. Jakob WIR, 2015. LA&M Photograp
Page 96 and 97:
tion. Leather Archives & Museum, Ch
Page 98 and 99:
98
Page 100 and 101:
100
Page 102 and 103:
102
Page 104 and 105:
104
Page 106:
LOCATED IN CHICAGO… SERVING THE W
show all

Leather Archives & Museum: 25 Years

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?