Rink sat for a brief telephone conversation with Hakim to about his career, loves and life in San Francisco.
Hakim: Describe the moment you knew you wanted to chronicle the lives of the LGBT community.
Rink: At the early 1971 meeting of the East Bay Gay Liberation Front and the Black Panther Party which was profiled in Esquire Magazine, and it flipped out the FBI, according to stolen files published in the alternative press, and the 1980 Stop the Movie Cruising Campaign.
What was the very first photo you've ever taken? How old were you? How did you feel about it?
At 14, a photograph of my 14 year old lover, and we were thrilled with the results, and it enhanced our relationship of 4 years.
What role does San Francisco play in your work?
Central- I am one of San Francisco's most avid promoters, and also the LGBT community here is my major subject, with an emphasis on diversity and unique people and events.
How did you meet Harvey Milk? What was your relationship with him.
I went into his store to buy some film and we became friends who had dinner together to discuss art, photography, politics, and our backgrounds in Off Broadway in NYC. He displayed my first show in his Castro Camera store window and he promoted my work and encouraged my gay activism through photography. Much of this information is on my website. And I staged a benefit for him at my Twin Peaks flat and two benefits at the Savoy Tivoli Restaurant in North Beach.
How did you know Andy Warhol? Describe your relationship with him also.
I visited Andy Warhol's studio with my boyfriend in 1968 and then we encountered him at two other events on the same day. Each time we had to tell him that we were not in an open relationship. And we met again on his book tour in San Francisco.
Have you always been comfortable with your sexuality?
From my first gay feeling, riding on top of my first grade teacher on a sled heading down an icy hill, I have been drawn to men. An appreciation of male bodies and the ability to photograph them and share the images affirms my being comfortable with my sexuality.
What do you love and hate about the lifestyle?
The freedom of people of different cultures and races and backgrounds to get together, and there is that quote of “The only black and white people who could get together and talk about the OJ case right after the verdict were the gays” - Arsenio Hall -and that is his view to interpret. The exploitation of LGBT queer youth.
How have gay rights evolved since the 1970s in your opinion?
I have seen most of the steps forward and backward in the evolution of gay rights. I have watched how the right to jobs and hate crimes laws have fallen behind as issues, as gays in the military and same sex marriage were chosen by leadership types to be of prime importance. Racism in the LGBT community should not be as much of a problem as it is now. Many African American gay activist men died of AIDS, who could have worked to alleviate this racism scourge and are not around to make it easier for non white youth to get ahead in life. And many of these activists would have been in positions of power in politics, the arts, and business. I knew them well, and AIDS activist Reggie Williams, City Hall powerhouse Brandy Moore, and filmmaker Marlon Riggs and dozens of others were close to me and I supported their causes.
Do you have any regrets with regards to your career?
I have not had the time to organize my photographs and negatives, and then preserve the archive by selling it to a university, library, or museum, where it could be converted into disks to be shared. When San Francisco's Board of Supervisors (city council) gave me a Heart of the City Proclamation last year it said that I was charged to preserve my archive. And no time to get grants with my 501©3 tax status.
Do you have a favorite collection of images or a favorite image overall?
Well composed portraits, sexy guys shown at their best, and projects that help out non-profits, youth, and artists get recognition.
How do you feel about gay marriage?
OK, if getting it will further gay rights, but I am not considering it for me and my buddy.
How well are you connected to the political structure in San Francisco or across the country?
I am involved as far as having access with the mayor, former mayors, and most of the other politicians from left to right, and the LGBT left to the radical gay right, and with dozens of non-profits when covering 10-15 events a week, and 600 plus events a year- and in when some way (does he mean “and in some way”), most of it is political- even the art groups and the 28 film festivals.
It's no surprise that sex sells! What is your opinion on this and how does it apply to your work?
Even the day after acres of bared and totally naked flesh at Pride and street fairs, there is intense cruising and feral looks and gestures, and I know that sensual and sexual images promote goods and services. And when the same peoples' images are presented all covered up, it does not get the same attention- I have tested it over and over. I try to offer both views to editors and sales people-to check out which ones they will choose.
Do you have a private collection of photos that will never see the light of day and you only expose to people you trust? If so, what's the nature of the photos?
Mostly photographs of the hundreds of guys I knew that died of AIDS, and some are revealing.
Have you ever been gay-bashed?
I was shoved by a felon with 8 priors a few years back in front of a gay bar. He received 3 years in jail. And there are all the verbal attacks by deranged sometimes closeted sometimes homophobic gays, many of whom are not newsworthy and do not receive the attention that they think they deserve.
What type of events do you enjoy shooting the most (street festivals, porn events, drag shows etc)?
All of them, and especially groups and individuals who are raising much-needed charity money, and they are new at it. They ask me and I can make suggestions to help them with the events and their websites, business cards, contacts.
What do you want to be your legacy? How do you want to be remembered when it's all said and done?
An activist who masqueraded as a photographer and journalist, that is what the Queer Cultural Center Executive Director Pam Peniston said about me anyway.... and it is what journalist Randy Shilts, who I knew well, called “Advocacy journalism”.
What's the sexiest event you've ever covered?
Scott O'Hara (check out his fine tribute website online) starring in “The Biggest Penis in San Francisco Contest.” It was beyond gay kitsch, it was so hilariously blatant. And Scott, an activist/philanthropist, who was sharp and even intellectual, did not take himself seriously, and he had fun on stage that night. And he “helped” the other contestants but he won anyway. I wrote an article about the show that of course deified him. Scott and I became close and I helped him with the promotion of his plays, charities, and political events.
From the perspective of a photojournalist, what was sex like for a gay man in the 70s, 80s, 90s and now 2000s? And how do the different decades compare?
I have always had a boyfriend/lover/worse than a lover/buddy- what the guys I have been with, and am with now, called our relationship. I have been bonded to them, and keep a cool correct distance from the sexuality that is going on. So I am not the right person to ask about all of that.
Describe yourself in your 20s. Were you very sexual? Did you have lots of sex? Were you a major attraction? What was your sex life like? And ultimately, what is your sex life like now???
The guys I have been in relationships with (some are still alive and I am close to most of them) and the guy I am with now would not appreciate me...answering that.
Thanks for spending some time with us.
Rink Foto
