Charles Leslie, 85 ans, est une icône de la scène artistique queer de Soho depuis un demi-siècle. Il est né à Deadwood, dans le Dakota du Sud, mais est parti à l’adolescence pour Los Angeles et, plus tard, pour Venise, Amsterdam et Paris après la guerre. Ses voyages l’ont conduit dans le monde entier à collectionner des œuvres d’art et des amoureux jusqu’au début des années 1960, lorsqu’il s’est retrouvé à New York et a rencontré son partenaire de longue date, Fritz Lohman.
En 1969, les deux étaient à Soho. La région était connue pour ses lofts abandonnés et ses artistes audacieux qui faisaient des œuvres queer que personne ne montrerait. Leslie avait donc une idée : ils mettaient en scène leur propre spectacle artistique, avec des artistes qui réalisaient des œuvres homérotiques. Ils pensaient avoir 60 ou 70 participants pour l’ouverture, mais cela a été bloqué par plus de 300 personnes. Leslie et Lohman ont dirigé cette exposition d’art souterrain pendant deux ans avant d’ouvrir une galerie appropriée ; ils l’ont ensuite transformée en fondation d’art à but non lucratif et, finalement, en musée de bonne foi, avec des participations de plus de 20 000 pièces. Aujourd’hui, le musée Leslie-Lohman d’art gay et lesbiennefait partie des collections d’art LGBTQ+ les plus renommées au monde.
Lohman est décédé en 2009, mais Leslie a continué à élargir la collection et à faire progresser son héritage. Il travaille actuellement à la préparation d’Art After Stonewall , une rétrospective majeure consacrée au 50e anniversaire de Stonewall ; elle se déroule du 24 avril au 21 juillet. Nous nous sommes assis avec lui pour discuter de l’art queer, Stonewall et de son idée d’une journée parfaite à New York.
Charles Leslie. Photo: Thomas Stoelker
How have LGBTQ+ people changed the art landscape?
Charles Leslie:
They’ve always been a significant part of the whole world of art. In the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, straight artists would talk pejoratively about the “Queer Art Mafia.” But there were a lot of queer artists who made an impact. There were always gay people who were part of the scene.
What role did Soho play in this queer art scene?
CL:
It couldn’t have happened anywhere else. Soho was the last undeveloped frontier of the arts…one of the last areas with amazing space—unused and underused. The old Jewish and Italian owners were desperate to get their places rented or sold. We had to keep our art a secret at first.
Right now, the Guggenheim is celebrating Mapplethorpe and The Met has an upcoming exhibit on camp. Do you see a greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ art than before?
CL:
A lot of major artists have broken through. People like Keith Haring have become major international figures.
Who are some of the most important gay artists at the moment?
CL:
I love Delmas Howe. He is possibly my favorite male artist right now.
Why is it important for LGBTQ+ people to see themselves in art?
CL:
It’s an affirmation. Before we only saw men and women together. Until this queer revolution, the only breakthrough came from neoclassical and Renaissance art when painters took advantage of allegorical stories. It was a way to break the rules. When you look at Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, it’s very clear to me that these men were gay.
Tell us what Stonewall means to you.
CL:
Long before Stonewall, there was this surging underground impetus toward some kind of change. It was a horrible time before Stonewall. Legally, you couldn’t serve a gay person a drink in a tavern. And then, it happened—people got sick of it. And people got sick of the Mafia running the gay bars. Every time we bought a drink, we put money in the Mafia’s pocket. It was the cumulative effect of people saying “Enough!”
Were you in the City when Stonewall happened?
CL:
The night the riots started, Fritz and I were at home in Soho. We got a call from someone at 2am who said to come down to Sheridan Square. By the time we got there, there were mobs of people. But it didn’t happen in just one night—it lasted three nights. Finally, the city council woke up and said enough is enough.
Can you give us Charles Leslie’s perfect NYC day?
CL:
I’m 85 years old now, so my perfect day has changed. My perfect day now is not accepting any appointments before noon. Then I love to go to a little restaurant called
for lunch. I admire them because they hang a gay flag. And the food is marvelous.
