GAYLETTER

The first time I ever heard the name Leonard Fink, I was an impressionable journalism student in my second portraiture class — my professor showed my class some of his self-portraiture work and I remember being enamored. Fink’s self portraiture at times is rather straightforward: a photograph of him shooting his reflection in a mirror. But at other times, he manages to photograph himself more in terms of his identity and the implications that came with his gayness in the context of 1970s- and 80s- in New York City. Somehow, his self-portraiture transcended — still transcends — his self. If you’ve never heard of the dude — I mean, he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page — or even if you have, Leslie-Lohman Museum in SoHo is giving you the chance to see it. The exhibition OUT FOR THE CAMERA: The Self-Portraits of Leonard Fink just went on view and will remain so until early August. The exhibition is the first “to focus on Fink’s photographs that explore themes of exhibitionism and identity. It also includes several related works of self-portraiture and images of New York City piers by such artists as Gail Thacker, Tee A. Corinne, Del LaGrace Volcano and others.” These comparisons are not intended to only provide context to Fink’s photographs; rather, they will “draw out the singularity of Fink’s vision.” Clock me gagging over it during my lunch break.  —Connor Atkins