San Francisco Bay Times photographer Rink, who has been photographing LGBT events in the city since the late 60’s, has a work featured in the major new exhibit, “The 1970s: The Blossoming of a Queer Enlightenment.” The exhibit is on view until June 26 at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York, NY.
The exhibit explores the decade between the Stonewall Riots in 1969 up to 1980, when we heard the first rumblings about the pandemic that changed the nature of sexual relationships to the present day.
“This was an amazing period in gay history,” Museum Director Hunter O’Hanian said. “It was informed by the sexual revolution, anti-war efforts and the civil rights movement, which fermented in the 1960s. Feminists clearly found their voice during this period. It was an age when gay men, lesbians and trans folk began to look inward and saw they could possibly free themselves from the social repression that had been forced on them for decades.”
He continued, “It was the awakening of a new period of enlightenment in human and social development. The scent of political and personal freedom was everywhere. One only had to stop and look for it. Culture, fashion, politics and a greater sense of one’s own sexuality exploded on a daily basis.”
Rink’s image is one of 115 works in the exhibit that includes the entire “X Portfolio” by Robert Mapplethorpe. Rink’s image documents a noteworthy moment in our history: the first time that a large, organized group of lesbians marched in what was later known as the San Francisco Pride Parade. Rink actually helped to make that happen, having previously invited his friend Harvey Milk to a meeting, where Milk persuaded the parade committee to welcome lesbian participation.
We congratulate Rink on this achievement, and for the honor of inclusion in the exhibit.
For more information: https://www.leslielohman.org/exhibitions/current.html
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