By Edward Guthmann

-Freelance writer and former SF Chronicle film critic

Thanks for your wonderful “Homo File.” It’s very inventive and smart, and I felt it captured a lot about Sam very accurately. Also liked the casting of your lead actor as Sam. Would love to see how it develops.

I knew Sam for a few years, probably starting in ’78. I was in my twenties, writing for a local gay rag, the Sentinel, and also occasionally for the Advocate. I think we must’ve met when I interviewed him at the time “Dear Sammy” came out. After that I’d visit him periodically at his little cottage in west Berkeley (the neighborhood was low-rent but not, as Justin Spring wrote in “The Secret Historian,”  a “slum.”) I remember his dachshunds and cuckoo clocks; his dapper moustache, turtlenecks and air of Old World gentility. I remember the thick atmosphere of exotic memories he’d surrounded himself with. I remember him complaining about his neighbors, a household of “unreconstructed hippies” who played the Grateful Dead too often and too loudly.

He wasn’t getting around much. He didn’t own a car, and I remember that going to San Francisco on the bus was exhausting for him. There was a sadness in him, deep regret about not accomplishing more as a man of letters. I remember he called himself “a minor literary figure” and I remember his tales of befriending his literary heroes by writing them. He had a formula for currying a friendship through letters: flatter the writer, but not too much; say something intelligent and specific about their work; and never ask for favors.

Sam was very lonely as an old man. I’m sure he missed his friends, most of whom were gone. I’m sure he missed being part of the game: the great sexual hunt, the conquest and the exhaustive documentation of that conquest that absorbed most of his life. I don’t know if he regretted not settling down with someone; maybe he figured it wasn’t in his nature. But I remember how, when I once lamented the loss of a promising love, he chastised me. “But don’t you realize, Edward?,” he said in a harsh tone. “The life of the homosexual is the life of the butterfly! Relationships don’t last.”

In retrospect that sounds like a line from from “The Boys in the Band.” I don’t know if the bitterness in that statement was the result of pre-Stonewall oppression, or specific to Sam’s own history of intense sexual obsession. I know he disliked being old. He was in his early 70s, which , 30 years ago, seemed much older than it seems now.  He said once, for dramatic emphasis, “After all, I’m NINETY” — as if 70 were so ancient that he might as well have been 90.

It was amazing to discover “Secret Historian” and to see what a thorough and intelligent job Justin did with it.  I was thrilled for Sammy to be remembered and validated. He would’ve been surprised — and deeply gratified. It was the kind of recognition he always yearned for, even if it was less for his writing and more for his pioneering perambulations and the varied, extreme, sometimes self-destructive choices he made.

Well the run has been amazing thus far with sell out houses and very enthusiastic audiences for both Homo File and FML. We got wonderful press coverage and  appeared in several blogs. Here are a few.

A fabulous article by Kimberly Chun in the SF Chronicle 96 hours

Really interesting article by Richard Dodds in the Bay Area Reporter

Stance on Dance is a really interesting interview blog by Dancer/Writer Emmaly Wiederholt

A lovely review by Rob Avila about Homo File says…”On the bill with FML is a work-in-progress performance of Homo File, writer-designer-director Seth Eisen’s multi-media and cross-disciplinary show. It already sports a formidable narrative arc and aesthetic vision as it explores the life of Samuel Steward (1909–1993), an amazingly well, um, connected English professor, writer of homoerotic fiction, famous tattoo artist, and sexual rebel. The 30-odd minutes of material on display delivers a strong sense of this fascinating figure (played by Ned Brauer, with occasional and evocative recourse to some aerial straps), who kept elaborate record of his astounding range of sexual conquests and liaisons in what he called his “stud files,” a concatenation that forms a backbone to the story of a life told from the vantage of final days. Meanwhile, Eisen and his winning cast place Steward in a mise-en-scène equally as promiscuous, ranging over dramatic scenes, aerial acrobatics, shadow puppetry, and even a hilariously lewd application of the old teacher’s standby, the overhead projector”. (Avila)

A beast in the Jungle has a really well written perspective on the shows.

On Thursday night Sept 27th we had an incredible turn out for the HOMO FILE SALON DISCUSSION at The Center For Sex and Culture, hosted by Dr. Carol Queen. I was honored to be on a panel about Sam Steward and Homo File with special guest Michael Williams, executor of the Samuel Steward estate. Michael was a dear friend of Steward for the last 10 years of his life and very instrumental in making his art and life’s work available to us so that we can get a glimpse of what Carol queen calls “the Zelig the 20th Century Homosexuality.”

We talked about

• The importance of queer elders pass on the lineage of our tradition to the younger generation
• Queer Alliances as a path to artistic freedom and personal evolution.
• Documentation and queer identity and how  Sam’s documentation helps us to get a glimpse of what it was like to be queer back in the pre-Stonewall days.
• Why Phil Andros books are important (Andros was Steward’s pseudonym for erotic fiction). Michael’s perspective on Sam and the artists of his milieu was enlightening.
• We Discussed the role of women in Sam’s life and that of Emmy Curtis his one and only long time female lover and dear friend. This is the role played by Elana Isaacs in the show.

All in all it was a great event with over 60 people in attendance.

The other amazing piece of that evening was the intimate conversation that the cast of Homo File had with Michael Williams in the dressing room after the show. He was really wonderful to us and filled with stories and tidbits about Sam which was a huge gift to us. It truly felt like the passing on of this really extraordinary lineage. I know it was a big gift to us. Here is a photo of Michael with our lead actor Ned Brauer who plays Sam Steward.

And lastly I want to share a very special photo of a few months ago taken my Director’s Assistant,Casey Collins who I am very grateful to for all of his support. These are the hands of the bunraku puppet of the old man Sam in the oven before being painted and added to the body. We have truly met our goal of making a really delicious Sam Stew.

In 1948 The Polaroid Land camera revolutionized photography by allowing people to instantly and privately develop their own photographs. For Steward this was particularly important because any kind of evidence of deviant sexuality could be incriminating and may have cost him his job and led to prison time. He took these photographs in the hundreds and shared them with Dr. Kinsey and The Institute For Sexual Research where they were valued as a brave act of historic and scientific research. There was very little evidence of queer sexuality in these times.

Through the documentation of his sexual acts he was making queer sexuality visible. Along with his other record keeping practices such as the Stud File catalogue, documenting every sexual encounter of his life, Steward has left behind a testament of his sexual activity and a “body of evidence” marking his existence in a social arena that would have rendered him invisible.

In our gallery exhibit in the CounterPULSE lobby  we have re-imagined Steward’s queer gaze. We recreated his polaroids using local guys to pose for photos with our very own Sam Steward–Ned Brauer, the lead of Homo File.

Photos by Gary Ivanek

We are in the final stages in the Homo File production and very excited by our progress this week. Working with many types of media is very exciting especially where it is related to how Sam Steward documented and articulated his desire in a social arena that would have preferred to render him invisible.

Ned Brauer as Sam Steward
Photo: Gary Ivanek

One of Steward’s documenting practices of queer sexuality in the 50s was with his Polaroid camera. The photos were a testament to the enormous risks he took during the McCarthy era. His Polaroids were of  particular interest to Alfred Kinsey and The Kinsey Institute For Research in Sex.

The gorgeous Jake models for Steward’s Polaroid series.
Photo: Gary Ivanek

Steward worked as a tattoo artist under the name of Phil Sparrow and ran tattoo shops in Chicago, Milwaukee and Oakland.  He was a tattoo mentor to famed tattoo artists Ed Hardy and Cliff Raven. Tattooing sailors was one of his favorite past times and another way of creating his homoerotic “body of evidence”.  Here we have Homo File lead Ned Brauer as Steward with a tattoo customer.

Ned Brauer as Phil Sparrow, tattoo artist.
Photo: Gary Ivanek

Here is a video of Ed Hardy speaking about Steward.

One of the ways we are experimenting and integrating Steward’s talents in drawing and tattooing is with live drawing by artist Diego Gomez.

Rich Hutchison as sailor in Homo File. Drawing by Diego Gomez

Check out our video for a sneak peek at what we are making.  http://kck.st/P9utau

We open in one week!!

Here are a few pics of our cast working on Homo File in rehearsal.

Ned Brauer and Michael Soldier rehearsing for the Dr. Kinsey and Sam Steward scene at Kinetic Arts center.

Ned and Michael working with the amazing Emily Park at Kinetic Arts.

See more on our little promo video of the show here:

http://kck.st/P9utau

Hey want to see some great video of what we are working on and get some fabulous booty while you are at it?

We have just launched our Kickstarter campaign and we need your support to get Homo File off the ground. In only 1 week we have 25 backers and are $3713 away from our $5000 goal. If you can help us support his amazing project in this first stage you will also be helping to make it possible that our LGBTQ history is not erased.
Here is a link to our Kickstarter page where you can see some cool video snippets of the work in progress. We are giving away steaming hot art work from the show for your contribution. At least take a peek at the video.  http://kck.st/P9utau

And here is a photo of us at a recent rehearsal with our amazing composer Jewlia Eisenberg who we have had the great fortune to work with. It is gonna be good. Trust! Wait till you see what she got us to do with 5 typewriters!

Pictured here left to right: Rich Hutchison, Michael Soldier (aka Precious Moments), Ned Brauer, Elana Isaacs, and the amazing Jewlia Eisenberg of Charming Hostess fame.

We had two amazing shoots last weekend for Homo File. The first was with tattoo artist  Zeph Fish who was inking our Sam Steward played by Ned Brauer. Sam was mentored by tattoo artist Amund Deitzel. Sam himself was mentor to tattoo artists Ed Hardy and Cliff Raven here in the Bay Area after he moved here in 1967–(the year I was born). On Saturday Ned had an amazing image of Mercury put on by Zeph Fish at her studio in the Mission.  Here is a link to her site: zephrocious.com  Her work was amazing and she is not only an amazing artist but a very cool person. We are so honored to have her be part of this project.

K Lisette and Rich Hutchison are our video artists and also performers in the show.

On Sunday we did a second shoot recreating Sam Steward’s tattoo parlor and his Chicago apartment where he did much of his research and documentation of tattooing and sex for The Kinsey Institute and for his own archives. Here are some photos by Gary Ivanek, a photographer working with us on the project. Ned Brauer appears as Sam, Brit Zane as sailor and Chris Hammett as a tattoo client. Amazing work by all the models who showed up, Michael Soldier who recruited and choreographed some hot scenes and our incredible film crew: Gary Ivanek, K Lisette, Rich Hutchison, Mark McBeth, Marko Serpas. Thanks to the generosity of Carol Queen and Robert Lawrence at Center for Sex and Culture for letting us use their amazing space for the shoot.

Call for tattooed actors/models for video/photo shoot

for upcoming Homo File Performance Project by Seth Eisen

Sunday, July 22nd  at Center For Sex and Culture

1349 Mission St between 9th & 10th Streets, on the corner of

Grace Street, San Francisco, CA

Interested models please send photos and info on your body type and tattoos to tattoo@eyezen.org

Time will be given with confirmation. (DO NOT JUST SHOW UP. THANKS — SEE BELOW)

WHO AND WHAT:

We are looking for male or trans guys—who are bi, gay, queer or queer friendly actors/models who won’t mind being physical with other guys for a photo and video shoot that is sensual in nature and will be shot with uniforms and some nude. The photos/video will feature the tattoos as well as sexual poses that will recreate the form of documentation created by Samuel Steward in the 1950s. We are looking for masculine looking guys who can pull off “a look of guys in a uniform” such as cops, sailors, 50s hustlers, body builders, blue collar workers of any kind, men in suits and the like. See the following video for reference: http://www.facebook.com/secrethistorian/videos

Types of tattoos we are seeking:
The models should have multiple tattoos in various locations. They can be amateur tattoos, professional tattoos, both via traditional methods and mechanized tattoo needles. And although we’re looking for some guys with more dated tattoo styles (international folk style or unique artwork, especially anyone with Navy iconography like anchors, rope and styles from 1930s-70s with roses, hearts, foliage, genitals, wings, dragons, snakes etc.), we are open to any and all unique possibilities that stimulate the imagination. We are seeking men of all ages and body types and especially guys from 20-40.
Interested guys should email tattoo@eyezen.org and send photos and description of tattoos and experience posing. Please state if you have any experience acting and or being directed in porn or nude photography or just a natural talent. We will have to be somewhat selective, as we’re casting no more than 10 guys.

About the show: Homo File
Seth Eisen writes and directs an ensemble of multidisciplinary performers/artists/collaborators in his new Queer history performance project titled Homo File, chronicling the life of Sam Steward, (1909-1993). Steward was a college professor, a prolific author of homoerotic fiction, an influential tattoo artist, and Queer sexual maverick who lived his last 3 decades in the Bay Area. His artistic development and Queer self-awareness evolved through friendships with Alfred Kinsey, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Thornton Wilder, George Platt Lynes as well as numerous other LGBT luminaries.

The performance will feature Steward’s steadfast practice of documenting his private sexual experiences and the development of his alliances amongst Queer artists in an era of few civil liberties. Steward and his circle helped shape contemporary Queer culture despite the repressive climate they existed in. The threat of being outed, tried and jailed were always imminent. Steward was a Queer maverick and one of many lost LGBT histories. As part of the visual poetry of Homo File we are shooting photos and video to represent Steward’s work as an influential tattoo artist. Steward was a mentor to both Cliff Raven and (Don) Ed Hardy.

Phils Tattoo Joynt

Okay. Since my first post it has become obvious that I need to make a list of all of the links and connections with Sam Steward that are on the web. The first is this amazing blog that was created by a writer who blogs about Steward’s life and his own interests and connections to Steward’s life. It is a really interesting project. He says about it…

TRIBUTE TO SAM BLOG

Tributetosam.com is a beyond-the-grave dialogue with one of the most intelligent, charismatic, and complicated American scholars – Samuel M. Steward.  In an effort to understand this analogous life of ours, the posted pieces create dialogues with Mr. Steward about life.  To add, since Mr. Steward enjoyed company,  [the author] thought it proper to invite anyone who feels connected to these experiences to join in with their comments, critiques and stories. The goal is to find a common human connection that transcends generations.

I will be attending this symposium next week on Sam Steward

Queer Places, Practices & Lives

A Symposium in Honor of Samuel Steward

The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH

May 18-19, 2012

This 2-day conference provides a forum for scholars, creative writers, performance artists, archivists, and others to present and discuss their work relating to queer issues. Comprised of a number of concurrent sessions, two plenary panels, a roundtable on collecting and archiving LGBTQ materials, and a keynote address, the conference aims to take stock of recent trends in queer studies scholarship and to open up new avenues of inquiry, research, and expressive practice.

Why Samuel Steward?

It is fitting that the first, full-scale, academic queer studies conference at OSU should be made possible by, and in commemoration of, one of the university’s former graduates. Born in 1909 in the small town of Woodsfield, Ohio, Samuel Steward enrolled at Ohio State University in 1927 and earned a BA in 1931 and a PhD in 1934, both in English literature. Steward went on to teach literature at OSU and other colleges for several years, eventually abandoned academia and became a well-respected tattoo artist under the name Phil Sparrow, and later on wrote a number of erotic novels, using the pseudonym Phil Andros, as well as other books.

In 1995, the estate of Samuel Steward, at his bequest, donated funds to the Department of English at OSU, which were meant to further research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer lives and issues. These funds have only recently resurfaced and are now being put to their intended use. In keeping with Steward’s proclivity for traversing the academic and the popular, this conference seeks to create spaces where scholars, students, community members, artists, and performers can interact and converse with each other.

HERE IS A VIDEO ABOUT SAM STEWARD

AN INTERVIEW WITH SAM “A VERY MAGICAL LIFE”

Here is a link to the Kinsey Institute