Finding aid to the David Greene Shameless Photographs, 1974
Coll2013.011
Finding aid prepared by Michael C. Oliveira
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California, 90007
(213) 741-0094
askone@ONEarchives.org
© 2013
Title: David Greene Shameless photographs
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2013.011
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
10.0 b&w photographs.
Date: 1974
Abstract: Between February and August 1974, David Greene photographed men and women who challenged gender stereotypes. The Darkroom
Gallery in Berkeley, California exhibited the images in the fall of that year. The collection includes ten of the fifty photographs
that were exhibited in his show titled
Shameless. The ten photographs capture twelve shameless gay men embracing their genderqueer identity.
creator:
Greene, David, 1950-
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder #, or item name] David Greene
Shameless photographs, Coll2013-011, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Michael C. Oliveira, 2013.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Biography
David Greene attended the University of Michigan, where he wrote and directed a feature length film,
Pamela and Ian. After graduating, he relocated to San Francisco, California. Where he photographed men and women who challenged gender stereotypes.
Fifty of his photographs were exhibited in a show titled
Shameless. The show opened in Berkeley, California in 1974 with more than 200 people attending, most in drag. The exhibition then traveled
to San Francisco in 1975 as
Andy's Donuts, Center of the Universe. The exhibition subsequently traveled as
Shameless to New York (1976), Chicago (1978), and Zurich (1979). Greene also photographed a series of images for the book
Men Loving Men published by Gay Sunshine Press (1977).
As of 2012, Greene has published three books,
Unmentionables: A Novel (2010),
Photographs (2012), and
Detonate (2012) He lives in Chicago with his spouse, painter James Stephens.
Related Archival Materials
Box 85, folder 2,
Men Loving Men, photographs by David Greene 1977, Gay Sunshine records, Coll2011-011, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California.
Acquisition
The date and method of acquisition for the nine 8x10 photographic prints remains unknown.
The 11x14 photographic print of
Tea Time, Three Revolutionaries, San Francisco was a gift of Ian Stulberg.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of nine 8x10 and one 11x14 black & white photographic prints from David Greene's show titled
Shameless. The first exhibit of
Shameless consisted of fifty photographic prints at The Darkroom Gallery in Berkeley, California.
Greene photographed mostly friends in their own homes between February and August 1974. The subjects are "shameless" in living
as gay men embracing their genderqueer identity. The collection also includes an article on the exhibit from
Vector magazine, October 1974.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gay men--Portraits
Photographers
Shameless photographs
1974
Arrangement
The photographic prints are arranged alphabetically by subjects name or title of the work.
General note
Text describing the subjects and settings was transcribed from David Greene's book,
Shameless: Photographs (1977).
Box-binder 1
Blaze and Eric's last tango
1974
Box-binder 1
Christopher at home with ghost in the chair (in the mirror)
1974
Greene's description
"Christopher Lonc was a consummate genderfuck performer. We met in Berkeley in 1974 at a gay liberation front meeting. Many
queens wore drag in the bars at night, but Christopher was among the few doing it on the street in daylight. He thought of
what he did as street theater. Christopher wanted to raise consciousness, to make people aware of how arbitrary clothes were,
and to show how limited the range of what most people allowed themselves to wear was. Some people criticized Christopher for
aping femininity, but he said that what he was doing was expanding the possibilities for men. He believed that if every man
would spend just one day in drag, it would cure most of the world's ills. Like most genderfuck artists, Christopher's passion
for mixed gender outfits arose not out of any sexual fetish, but from an exuberant creativity and playfulness. His street
theater took tremendous courage."
"We collaborated on many portraits. He wanted Matisse-like pictures, full of busy detail and textures in haphazard but aesthetically
interesting arrangements. He constructed the iconography of his living space for each of these portraits. Christopher had
a rule: never wear the same outfit twice. He wanted to invent himself anew every day."
Box-binder 1
Harmodius (Tony Rogers) in exile in his bedroom with pipe and jewelry
1974
Box-binder 1
Tania at home in secretary drag
1974
Greene's description
"Tanye [Tania] was one of my favorite subjects. He had just moved to San Francisco when we met, having lived and worked for
several years as a woman librarian in South America. Eventually Tanye decided he was more interested in genderfuck than in
transgender."
Box-binder 1
Steve Davis at his birthday party with gift
1974
Greene's description
"I took this photograph at Steven Davis's twenty-first birthday party in Nice's Berkeley apartment. The party was one of the
first social events for a circle of young gay men who became friends in the mid-1970s. Steven had just arrived in California
from Ohio and received many gifts--some serious, some camp. He especially loved the baby doll. He also received a rhinestone
necklace, a rhinestone bracelet (worn as an arm band), and a bejeweled vest. This photograph became the poster image for the
first exhibit of
Shameless in 1974 at the Darkroom Workshop Gallery."
Box-binder 1
Self-Portrait with grandfather and high school graduation picture, at my grandfather's house
1974
Box-binder 1
Aarmour Starr in front of his mantelpiece
1974
Box-binder 1
Aarmour Starr in his living room with "Song of the Islands" poster
1974
Box 2
Tea Time, Three Revolutionaries, San Francisco
1974
Greene's description
"Genderfuck trios,
Tea Time was a difficult photograph to take because Teddie, Jessie, and Bobo were camping it up so much that none of us could stop
laughing. The process of loading the 4x5 film into the negative carriers, which I did with my hands inserted in a black changing
bag while sitting on the floor with the bag in my lap, was the subject of much amusement. Eventually I managed to get the
lighting set up in the kitchen. Jesse added the S&H green stamp prop, and that inspired the moment. They all sat down and
struck a pose. I took just one exposure, and that was it."
Box-binder 1
Tom Turner, pianist and composer, as Michaelangelo's "David" with earring
1974
Greene's description
"Tom Turner is a pianist and composer. This portrait shows how genderfuck could be achieved with something as simple as an
earring. The sight of a man wearing an earring was shocking in 1974.The photograph's reference to Michelangelo's
David was based on our memory of how Michelangelo had posed David's right arm. This photograph was included in the
New Art Examiner review of the 1978
Shameless exhibit in Chicago."
Box-binder 1
Vector magazine article
October 1974
