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By Sensuous Sadie
rick@leatherarchives.org
http://www.leatherarchives.org
Leather Archives & Museum
6418 N. Greenview Avenue
Chicago, IL 60626
773.761.9200
Leather Archives & Museum Executive Director Rick Storer is a
Certified Public Accountant and holds a Masters of Library Science
degree from Dominican University. His research interests lie in
copyright and privacy issues as related to archives and libraries. Rick
joined the Board of Directors of the LA&M in 2001. Before becoming the
Executive Director in 2002, Rick volunteered for the museum by
processing the vertical files collection. During Rick's tenure in the
corporate world, he was involved in several diversity in the workplace
initiatives. Rick is a member of the Society of American Archivists, has
held the offices of President and Treasurer for Chicago Leather Club and
is an associate member of Chicago Hellfire Club. He enjoys spending time
in Chicago with his partner, Jeff.
SENSUOUS SADIE: One of the reasons that I was particularly
interested in interviewing you was because we work in similar fields. I
very much recognize is the value of preserving the history of a
community, particularly one that is a minority like ours. But I've also
found that most of the kinky folk that I meet aren't aware of the depth
and complexity of much before the contemporary BDSM lifestyle. I wonder
if you can address some of the issues around this?
RICK STORER: "The primary issue is the way sex
is viewed in culture, which plays out in a few ways. Let’s go back to
school. We are taught Civil War history, early American settlement
history, the history of various movements including (recently) GLBT
history, but nothing about the history of sexuality. So, if we’re not
introduced to this history through education, one has to take initiative
and actively gain that knowledge. When we’re faced with a choice between
learning a new SM technique or learning about the history of that
technique ... often our hormones kick in and make the choice for us.
This is NOT a bad choice by any means. Once folks get just a little
taste of this history though, there’s always a hunger for more. It
really is exciting history!"
Sadie: Can you talk a little bit about why
you are so dedicated to preserving our history?
Rick: "To start with, the history of alt-sex is so fascinating because
it is understudied. There are so many facts, theories, stories, and
secrets yet to be explored. It’s hard not to get excited by it. That
excitement leads to dedication. Also, I’m very inspired by the
groundwork laid out by people who came before us. I am amazed by the
risks and chances that Satyrs MC, Chuck Renslow, the early bars in New
York and others took to help shape the community that we move in today.
I’m also in awe of the early publishing that took place long before
there was a community. Irving Klaw and John Willie were creating
wonderful magazines that satisfied sexual desires for so many and helped
bring people together. How can one not be inspired by the results of
their work?"
Sadie: What is your job as Executive Director actually about? I know
from my own experience that outsiders often imagine work in archiving
and research to be quite dull, but I find it rather exciting. Does it
excite you as well?
Rick: "I was told when I was hired that being the Executive Director
meant doing whatever needed to be done. My job is about archiving and
research, but also about fundraising, government and grant reporting,
picking up garbage in front of the building, shoveling snow and speaking
to people about the LA&M and our history. It’s anything but dull. If I
ever try to complain about my job, people remind me that I work in a
building with 10,000 sq. feet of porn. They have a point ... a very
strong point. It is indeed very exciting."
Sadie: As you know, I am an avid collector of 1960's BDSM themed pulp
novels and feature my collection on my website. As my collection has
grown I've recognized that these books – being as rare as they are – are
an important part of our history as BDSM was quite evident during this
period, but shown on cover art only through the veil of a Code of
Decency. For other people who have ephemera (paper-based) items from the
past with a BDSM theme, what can you tell them about saving and
cataloguing them in a way so to keep them safely for posterity?
Rick: "Pulp novels, specifically, are tough. These books were produced
as inexpensively as possible and thus have very short shelf lives. The
science of preservation and conservation has answers for that, although
none of them are cheap answers and we haven’t been able to address
long-term preservation of those specific books yet. Paper in general is
very important to save. Even if someone thinks that at least 100 other
people have saved a book, newsletter, event program, or whatever ... it
should be saved and given to us. Keeping those boxes away from rooms
that can get wet (basements) is the most important priority. As for
cataloging, the LA&M takes care of that as resources arrive. If people
want to catalog their stuff for their own use though, by all means do
so! "
Sadie: I'm thinking that most people don't realize that the LA&M is
quite large, in fact it's 10,000 square feet in several building with
eight exhibition galleries. What does it take to keep this much material
organized? What are most popular exhibits?
Rick: "The most important factor in keeping 10,000 sq. feet of material
organized is human effort. Our volunteers have been beyond valuable in
cataloging, sorting, moving, and processing the resources available
here. The most popular exhibits include the leather history timeline,
BDSM in the Mainstream, and I’m positive that our newest exhibit, The
DUNGEON, is sure to be a big hit."
Sadie: Many of us who are big supporters of the work you do are
unfortunately far away from Chicago. How can someone help the LA&M from
afar?
Rick: "It is easier said than done, but ... spread the word! The best
way someone can volunteer from afar is to co-ordinate specific outreach
for the LA&M. There are lots of ways to do this, including making sure
brochures are stocked at your local bars and clubs, arranging for ad
space in your local event program books, keeping your eyes peeled for
interesting collections or artifacts and connecting those potential
donors with the LA&M, etc...
"Another very important job that can be done from anywhere is oral
histories. There’s a huge chunk of what we do that never gets recorded.
Did you see people snapping photos or taking notes the last time you
were at a public sex space? Probably not. The only way parts of our
history can be passed on is through the hearts and memories of those
that lived it. We rely on individuals to interview elders in their own
communities. The LA&M has a guide to conducting oral histories posted on
our website."
Sadie: I may as well put a plug in for the archives here as well.
I've put a clause in my will so that my collection of both pulp novels
and other BDSM collectibles will go to the LA&M upon my death. I did
this because I don't have any family that would know what in heaven's
name to do with all my kinky stuff! What do you tell people who might
want to consider gifting items to the LA&M either now, or upon their
death?
Rick: "This question goes straight to the heart of why the Leather
Archives was founded. Imagine a family coming through a house of someone
who has just passed, and throwing boxes of our history into a dumpster.
This wasn’t happening as isolated instances, but was happening all
around us all the time. It still happens today, which is why donating is
so important. It doesn’t matter if the donation is made now or later,
but that it is made and planned for.
"If someone wants to donate something now, my response is easy. ‘Tell us
what it is, then send it to us!’ There’s a very small amount of
paperwork involved, but then that magazine (or 1,000 magazines) is safe
and available to the world. For planned giving, we remind people that
wills are important, whether or not you have a family, husband, wife,
partner, or maybe one of each. There is a guide to naming the Leather
Archives & Museum as a beneficiary of your will on our website."
Sadie: Are there any particular items that you're looking to be donated
now? What do you definitely NOT need?
Rick: "We don’t have a list of specific items, but we are looking for
publications from women’s and primarily heterosexual organizations. We
are also interested in unpublished records (minutes, bylaws, event
flyers, etc..) from all organizations.
"Our art collection is also hungry for erotic and fetish art. One
advantage to a ‘community’ archives is that we aren’t restricted to
collecting published or well-known artists. Our collection certainly
seeks established and published artists, but is balanced with
representative works from unknown artists. We encourage artists, or
people who know of artists, to submit works (originals or prints) to the
LA&M for acquisition.
"As for what we don’t want ... this is easy. Our collection policy does
not allow us to collect materials related to general sexuality. We do
know of other institutions that would happily accept these items, so we
always help to find homes for general sexuality materials. We also do
not collect toys, equipment, fetish gear, etc.. We’d rather these items
were passed on to others in the community to wear or donated to
charitable auctions in the community. We can accept these items if they
are historically significant. Donors should contact the LA&M if they
have equipment or fetish gear they are interested in giving."
Sadie: I've always kept a file of the kinky magazines I've gotten
along the way, but it was only recently that I started looking at them
as the collector's items they will be one day. Because of the internet,
many of those magazines are already no longer published – a great loss
to us all. I wonder if you have that same feeling, and how you believe
the LA&M collection will change over the next few decades because of
this?
Rick: "I’m not sure my feeling is one of loss. We can see electronic
content that is similar to magazine content, not the same but similar.
The LA&M collection will become increasingly digital without question."
Sadie: Now I can't help but observe that there's quite a bit of material
at the LA&M on gay leather history, with somewhat less on lesbian
history, and even less on the straight community. I think you might
agree that today's community is by far heavily weighted toward the
straight groups. How do you plan to integrate this tremendous growth
into the museum?
Rick: "I’m not sure the community has shifted weight over time with
respect to orientation. This community has always challenged the ways
that general culture and sex culture views gender and orientation, and
will continue to do so. As the community grows, the LA&M will have to
find ... well, more space! Fortunately we’re a few years away from that
with the current building in Chicago. We also are planning for access to
offsite storage, for collections that are not frequently used but need
to be kept in a safe place.
"Part of the emphasis on gay leather history at the LA&M stems from they
ways different groups organized. Traditionally, gay men connected with
each other through bike clubs and leather backpatch clubs. These clubs
were usually very formal and created lots of documentation including
bylaws, meeting minutes, pins, patches and event posters. Gay men also
connect through the leather contest circuit, which creates publicity and
promotional materials .. more documentation. There’s simply more ‘stuff’
to collect.
"This bring me back to oral histories. For groups of people who are
creating history without alot of ‘stuff’, or documentation, oral
histories are extremely important. A local munch group that meets weekly
in a restaurant on an informal basis isn’t going to create much
documentation ... that doesn’t mean the history of the group shouldn’t
be preserved, it just needs to be preserved in a different way.
"I’ll state for the record that I’m making generalizations here to make
a point. There are definitely very organized straight and women’s
groups. TES in NYC and the Society of Janus in San Francisco are two
examples. TES Members have most of their history, and SoJ has deposited
their records in the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. No matter
the orientation or gender of the individuals involved, there is space
for our history at the LA&M."
Sadie: Congratulations on reaching your 15 years anniversary last
year! (2006) One of the goals I read you were looking into was expanding
into collecting leather history from other countries. How are you
approaching that?
Rick: "Our primary approach is outreach into other countries. The LA&M
needs to be known in international communities. Thanks to some hard
working volunteers, we have set up exhibits in several European
countries and will be taking our traveling exhibits into Canada this
year (2007)."
Sadie: What are your other long range plans for the LA&M for the next
ten years? How do you think your job will change as well?
Rick: "I talked about space issues a little bit already. That is one are
the LA&M will be addressing in the next ten years. Another important
topic is the preservation of digital resources. The LA&M joins the rest
of the archival and library professional communities as we search for
answers to this complex issue. We know how to make a piece of paper last
for at least 200 years. We don’t know that we’ll be able to access a jpg
photograph or MS Word document 10 years from now. It’s a complicated and
expensive issue, but is at the heart of what the Leather Archives is all
about."
Sadie: Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
Rick: "If you haven’t visited the Leather Archives, it really is a must
do on your next trip to Chicago. The museum is sexy, full of information
and connects one to the sexual past like no other institution in the
country."
Sadie: Thank you very much for chatting with me?
Rick: "Absolutely my pleasure!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sensuous Sadie is the author of It's Not About the
Whip: Love, Sex, and Spirituality in the BDSM Scene. Read an excerpt
and more at Sadie's Kinky Goodies http://www.sensuoussadie.com/sadieskinkygoodies.htm.
She is the founder and leader (1999 - 2001) of Rose & Thorn, Vermont's
first BDSM group. Comments, compliments and complaints, as well as
requests for reprinting can be addressed to her at SensuousSadie@aol.com
or visit her website at http://www.sensuoussadie.com/. Sadie believes
the universe is abundant, and that sharing information freely is part of
this abundance, so she allows reprints of her writing in most venues.
Copyright 2007 Sadie Sez Publications
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