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VPR's coverage of arts and culture in the region.

Vermont Photographer's LGBTQ-Focused Work On Display In NYC Solo Show

A black and white photograph of a woman laying on a bed in a Maine cabin.
Donna Gottschalk
"Self-portrait in Maine," taken in 1976, is currently on display as part of an exhibition of Donna Gottschalk's work at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City.

Donna Gottschalk, who now lives on a farm in Victory, documented the LGBTQ scene in New York and San Francisco in the 1960s and '70s. Her photos — some of which have never been displayed publicly — are featured in a solo exhibition called “Brave, Beautiful Outlaws” at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City.

Gottschalk first picked up a camera as a high school art student growing up in New York City. She was driven to do documentary photography in large part by her fascination with the emergent LGBTQ scenes that she was a part of at the time.

“The '60s, the '70s, it was dangerous just to be a woman,” she said. “To be a gay woman, you know — or an openly gay guy — you were really kind of a mark.”

"The '60s, the '70s, it was dangerous just to be a woman,” she said. “To be a gay woman, you know — or an openly gay guy — you were really kind of a mark." — Photographer Donna Gottschalk

Gottschalk’s photos are unposed and intimate — they depict people asleep in bed, hanging out in kitchens and cuddling with lovers. She said part of her style comes from documenting her own community: friends, lovers and family were often in front of Gottschalk's lens.

It helped to be, as Gottschalk puts it, “nosy.” She took photos of many friends who lived with her after being kicked out of their homes by family members because of their sexual orientation.

“I wanted to figure out why all these people wound up in [the New York City neighborhood of] Alphabet City, basically." Gottschalk said. "I had never been outside New York City, so I was fascinated by ‘Why did you come here?’”

Credit Donna Gottschalk
"Sleepers," taken in 1970, in Limerick, Pa., is currently on display at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City.

Many of the photos in Gottschalk’s show at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art have been a part of her personal archive for the last 50 years and she described these works as "not happy pictures."

Gottschalk said that at the time the photos were taken, people craved more upbeat images of LGBTQ scenes. She cited the work of photographers Joan Biren— who Gottschalk counts as a major influence on her work — and Diana Davies, who is known for documenting pivotal marches and festivals.

But, said Gottschalk, she “wasn’t in that spot” at that time. 

“I was beginning to realize how terrifying life was going to be if you were gay,” she said.

Fifty or so years later, Gottschalk said she’s “as shocked as anybody” that there’s so much interest in her photos now. The exhibit of Gottschalk's work at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, curated by Deborah Bright, is on display through March 17.

A graduate of NYU with a Master's Degree in journalism, Mitch has more than 20 years experience in radio news. He got his start as news director at NYU's college station, and moved on to a news director (and part-time DJ position) for commercial radio station WMVY on Martha's Vineyard. But public radio was where Mitch wanted to be and he eventually moved on to Boston where he worked for six years in a number of different capacities at member station WBUR...as a Senior Producer, Editor, and fill-in co-host of the nationally distributed Here and Now. Mitch has been a guest host of the national NPR sports program "Only A Game". He's also worked as an editor and producer for international news coverage with Monitor Radio in Boston.
Bayla joined VPR in 2018 as the producer for Morning Edition. She left in 2019.
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