Artist and photojournalist A.J. (Andrew) Epstein has been taking pictures since the late 1960s. Capturing queer life and events in the post-Stonewall era, he worked in Chicago before relocating to Los Angeles but has worked chronicling gay history nationwide.
Epstein photographed Chicago's Gay Pride Parade in the early 1970s, the Gold Coast bar, gay special events, entertainers of all stripes and various happenings in the Windy City. His photography, art and design have appeared in dozens of periodicals from Esquire to Playboy and from Rolling Stone to Vogue. His work has been shown at MOMA in NY, MOMA in SF and numerous galleries nationwide.
Epstein's newest work, Queer Culture, began as a showing at ONE, The National Gay and Lesbian Archives in L.A. It soon became a book as well. This diverse and evocative collection of photographs captures the feel and oftentimes the grit of gay history at its vital stages. In addition, Epstein has a second collection due this summer entitled The Blonde Bomber, a photo chronicle of the rough and wonderful world of women's roller derby.
Recently, Windy City Times had the opportunity to chat with Epstein about his art and was thrilled by some of the great tales this man has to tell. Epstein has been capturing history for decades and in the process has become an integral part of the unfolding of gay history, queer culture and queer art himself.
Windy City Times: Andrew, congratulations on your new your book. Tell me how Queer Culture came about?
A.J. Epstein: I have to give much of the credit to that amazing novelist Ann Bannon, who I met at the Lavender library in Sacramento when I was the art director for the News & Review. I had read her books especially The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. (My best friend's girlfriend was in a band in the 1980s with singer Michael Callen.) They asked me to design a logo for their CD called Be Bo Brinker. I didn't understand the name and Harriet Lyons (one of the original editors of Ms. magazine) made me read Ann's books. I loved the sexy '50s campy covers, but the writing inside was something else, just blew me away. When I heard we lived in the same town I wanted to take a picture of her. I've always loved documenting people that are larger then life. Ann is certainly in that category, although she was surprised that I had read all her books.
We hit it off, but when she asked what the shot was for … I really didn't have a good answer. She asked who I've shot, and all theses important names came out, in my case they were just my friends, the crowd I ran with in the old days. Ann was the one that planted the notion that I was shooting a very important part of lost queer history. I went home and started reediting my images, and the box got bigger and bigger. Since I'm still alive and half the people in the book are dead, I felt it was my responsibility to tell their stories.
Once I did figure out just what I had, and went into my journals and found I had written stories about my friends. I was able to put the images and words together, made a website, and the next day ONE called and offered me a show. I put the book together after I almost died from a botched spinal operation. I was house-bound for over a year, so I printed the images for the show and decided to go the self publishing route.
Funny story, I worked with Bruce Vilanch and then it turned out we both moved to L.A. in the early 1970s, into the same building. I haven't seen him in 30 years, we travel in very different crowds, but one day I had just come from the show and was at the West Hollywood Book Fair. Suddenly Bruce walked past with a very old woman in hand. I had a copy of the book and reintroduced myself, throwing out names of editors we both worked for at the [Chicago] Tribune and finally he remembered me. I showed him the book, and he couldn't stop laughing, and he showed the woman the 30-year-old photo of him waiting for a bus. She started laughing. He then introduced me to his friend Carol Channing, and said he loved it.
WCT: You've been documenting queer culture since 1969, including pictures from Chicago's first pride march. What do you see when you look over these pictures?
AE: What got me was that it was a political statement which they [Pride Parades] sure aren't no more, It's all turned into corporate beer floats. The street drag queens were so strong. Tough dames. They were the most political. The strongest ones are in the book. I wonder what ever became of them. I guess that's what I see or what I think, what happened to them all?
WCT: And what do you hope these photos show the younger generations of queers who weren't around at the time?
AE: That history didn't start with Madonna or Lady Gaga. There is an amazing history that we have had. I remember this cute guy I hired years ago named Josh, and he was going to the Pride Parade but didn't know what Stonewall was, didn't know Harvey Milk, nothing. I made him watch Before Stonewall and Times of Harvey Milk, who was a friend. The latter film got an Oscar for my partner of many years Richard Schmiechen. It amazes me Richard could be forgotten. Richard made some important films, a great one about Evelyn Hooker, but try and find five queers under 40 that know of her, or Richard's films ... or Tom of Finland, Mapplethorpe, Etienne, Cliff Raven, and let us not forget Chicago's Chuck Renslow. A lot of history has passed in front my lens.
WCT: Your photos provide such a great time capsulecapturing things like the 1976 mock slave auction in West Hollywood that was raided by LA police, the protests surrounding the movie Cruising, Chicago's Pride and anti-Anita Bryant rallies and so much more. Did you always feel like you were capturing history?
AE: Yes, always, and much of that came from Richard Schmiechen, he really taught me to see the bigger picture, and always the politics of the times. Richard was much more than the love of my life ... he was a great teacher. I never was an "art" photographer like my buddies Arthur Tress or Duane Michaels, I was more into Margaret Bourke-White, Diane Arbus, or Allen Ginsberg who was a friend. Blake Little (In the Company of Men) the photographer called my images snapshots. I took it the wrong way, until I saw the book of Ginsberg's photosall the snapshots he had laying around his East Village apartment, in books, on the floor, in the kitchen. I took one look at his book Beat Memories, and had to admit that I did do snapshots of history. Now I take that as a compliment.
WCT: You also have so many great photo portraits of such a diverse crowdBette Midler, Grace Jones, Craig Russell, The Cockettes, Tom of Finland, Ann Landers, Leonard Matlovich, The Pointer Sisters, Edie Sedgewick, etc. What is the key to taking a great portrait shot of someone?
AE: With disco diva Grace Jones, I was hired by Renslow to shoot her show, also IML [International Mr. Leather], and Sally Rand. In Chicago Chuck was always hiring me. I was the guy with a camera. My style has changed a bit. Later it became being honest, friendly and having a conversation before pointing a lens in anyone's face. I'm always shooting my friends. I like to have some sort of symbol of their work in the shot, like Ann holding one of her books, a prop but something she is proud of. Then I get that real smile and look in the eyes, it's always in the eyes. It used to be easy, but now there are a few people I want to shoot very badly, but don't know them or anyone that does, so if anyone knows Rachel Maddow, Lt. Dan Choi, Dan Savage, or Levi Kreis, give them my email.
WCT: In Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow there are some of your great evocative pictures of the eraphotos of the Gold Coast, Etienne, and Cliff Raven etc. What drew you more towards the leather extreme as a photographer?
AE: Well Dom Orejudos (Etienne) seduced me off the Belmont El stop on my way to college in the Loop back in the 1960s, the first leather sex I ever had. He was wonderfully twisted. He introduced me to Cliff Raven [the tattoo artist], and I fell hard for the guy. I chased him for almost a year. Cliff was my first older-guy-artist-lover-teacher. He taught me about art, he got me into printmaking, he took me to museums. He was a very knowledgeable guy about art and life. We remained friends for many years.
When Tom [of Finland] and Dom were having the big show at Stompers Gallery in the East Village in the late 1970s, Louie the owner and Mapplethorpe wanted to include my erotic art, but Tom didn't want another gay artist, their [his and Dom's] work was similar enough. Robert found out that Tom had never seen my artwork, and set up a meeting between us at this crazy party. Tom and I sat in the kitchen most of the night. From that point on I was in the show, and Tom would introduce me as his favorite young gay artist, and he meant it. Dom was shocked that I was the same scared goofy guy from the El.
What drew me to the kinky side, well being an alcoholic was sure part of it. I was there but at times, not there. I always got the shot somehow. Joe Gage had to remind me a few years ago that I did the photography for his [porn film] classics, Kansas City Trucking Co, El Paso Wrecking Crew, LA Tool and Die, and Closed Set. I even did the poster for Kansas City Trucking. I was so drunk back then working for Fred Halstead. I got sober 34 years ago. God knows running with Mapplethrope wasn't going to help me get sober. I ran with a crowd that was all crazier then me so no one noticed how I clung to my bottle of Southern Comfort and tab of acid. I loved to shoot under that influence.
WCT: You also are quite renowned as a photographer of the roller-derby world. What about that world drew your interest?
AE: My next book out this summer The Blonde Bomber, and the new resurrected derby, I will be selling and signing it at all the derby games, and possibly a show at Chicago's Aaron Packard Gallery. The Blonde Bomber, Joan Weston, was a close friend and taught me to skate, my grandmother Pearl Kahn worked for Leo Seltzer, the father of roller derby. She managed the concessions for the roller derby for about 20 years, when other kids went to see the Easter Bunny I was at the derby with Pearl. She was a very special grandmother.
WCT: What makes a great photo?
AE: You can have all the equipment, lens, assistants, studio, but if you don't have an eye, it's just toys. As I said earlier, it's always about the eyes.
For more information about the work and life of artist and journalist A.J. Epstein please check out www.ajepstein.com or www.spaghettibrains.com .