Bartmess (Kenneth) masks and photographs, circa 1979-1985

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Summary

Title:
Kenneth Bartmess Masks and Photographs
Dates:
circa 1979-1985
Creators:
Bartmess, Kenneth
Abstract:
Four flower masks, one Don Kilhefner mask, and photographs of Radical Faeries gatherings from gay activist and craftsman, Kenneth Bartmess, circa 1979-1985.
Extent:
3.5 linear feet. 3 flat archive boxes.
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Kenneth Bartmess Masks and Photographs, Coll2013-008, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Background

Scope and content:

The collection, circa 1979-1985, comprises five of Bartmess' hand-crafted masks, as well as a small collection of photographs taken of gatherings of the Radical Faeries, a collective of spiritual gay men. One mask is in the likeness of gay activist and Radical Faerie founder, Don Kilhefner; and the other four flower masks were used in Without Reservations, a theatrical reading of stories from a gay theater group in Los Angeles.

Biographical / historical:

California native and longtime Los Angeles resident, Kenneth Bartmess, was a volunteer peer counselor at the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center during the 1980s-1990s. He earned a degree from Santa Monica College in the early 1990s, and was involved in theater and dance. Bartmess was also a craftsman, and ran a custom lamp and lighting-fixture business. In 1991, Bartmess lost his lover of 22 years, CJ Meagher, to an AIDS-related illness. He later wrote about his experience in From a Burning House: The AIDS Project Los Angeles Writers Workshop Collection (1996). As a craftsman, Bartmess also made masks for artistic expression.

Source: Borger, Irene, Ed. From a Burning House: The AIDS Project Los Angeles Writers Workshop Collection. New York, NY.: Washington Square Press, 1996.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Kenneth Bartmess, March 21, 2007.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Loni Shibuyama, January 2013.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Loni Shibuyama
Sponsor:
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Date Prepared:
(c) 2013
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-05-01T11:59-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Kenneth Bartmess Masks and Photographs, Coll2013-008, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Location of this collection:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007, US
Contact:
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
Website