Chuck Arnett

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Charles "Chuck" Arnett (February 15, 1928, in Bogalusa, Louisiana – March 2, 1988, in San Francisco, California) was an American artist and dancer.[1] His best-known work is the Tool Box mural (1962).[2]

Biography[edit]

Arnett grew up in Bogalusa and New Orleans, the latter of which he would later always claim as his hometown. He danced in the local ballet successfully for several seasons before moving in 1951 to New York City to better pursue the career he wanted to make for himself in the world of professional dance. Arriving with letters of introduction and names of people to contact from his time as a dancer in New Orleans, he quickly settled into the life of those in Manhattan who referred to themselves as "theatrical gypsies." In the next few years, his time was divided between the best dance classes he could get enrolled into, practice, auditioning for parts, and rehearsing and then performing on the stage. He then performed for some time with the National Ballet of Canada; the time he spent with the National Ballet was the only full-time, permanent employment he would ever hold in his life.

After the National Ballet and dancing in Las Vegas casinos, Arnett later moved to San Francisco where he worked at the Tool Box, a gay bar at 339 4th St in the South of Market neighborhood.[3] The Tool Box was one of the first bars in the city[4] catering specifically to the leather community and gay motorcycle clubs.[5][2][6] Beginning in 1962 Arnett painted a series of life-size murals inside the bar depicting a wide cross-section of gay society.[5] The bar and the murals were made famous by the June 1964 Paul Welch Life article entitled "Homosexuality In America,"[5] the first time a national publication reported on gay issues. The article opened with a two-page spread of one of Arnett's murals.[7][2] The article described San Francisco as "The Gay Capital of America" and inspired many gay leathermen to move there.[3]

One busy night Rudolf Nureyev came into the Tool Box with several men obviously from the opera house where he was performing. He was seated at the bar and with many people watching, removed the coat he had on, revealing a leather jacket, to applause. Arnett brought his drink, a cognac, in the best glass the house could provide, and when he finished it and left, Arnett took the glass.

Arnett depicted a wide variety of subjects in his art, ranging from astrology to fisting.[8] He also created a psychedelic black light mural for the bar The Stud.

Arnett died on March 2, 1988, from AIDS.[1]

Cultural impact & legacy[edit]

The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley, consists of four works of art along Ringold Alley honoring leather culture,[9][10] including a black granite stone etched with a narrative by Gayle Rubin and a reproduction of Arnett's Tool Box mural.[11][10] Another of the works of art is bronze bootprints along the curb which honor 28 people (including Arnett) who were an important part of the leather communities of San Francisco.[10][9]

Some of Arnett's papers and artwork is housed at the Leather Archives & Museum[12] and GLBT Historical Society,[8] including one of the Tool Box murals.[5]

In 2006, historian Jack Fritscher wrote:[13]

"If there is a gay Mount Rushmore of four great pioneer pop artists, the faces would be Chuck Arnett, Etienne, A. Jay, and Tom of Finland."

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "AIDS AT 25 / The remembering continues". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  2. ^ a b c Rubin, Gayle (1998). "Folsom Street: The Miracle Mile". FoundSF. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  3. ^ a b "Leather History Timeline-Leather Archives". Leatherarchives.org. Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  4. ^ Brook, J., Carlsson, C., and Peters, N. J. (1998). Reclaiming San Francisco: history, politics, culture. San Francisco: City Lights
  5. ^ a b c d "The Artistry of Leather and Desire: Archives Acquire Tool Box Mural". GLBT Historical Society. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  6. ^ "Dress Codes: Chuck Arnett & Sheree Rose". ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries. Archived from the original on 2017-11-26. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  7. ^ "yax-192 Life in 1964, part 1". Yawningbread.org. 1964-07-27. Archived from the original on 2005-01-20. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  8. ^ a b "Chuck Arnett collection". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  9. ^ a b Cindy on July 17, 2017 (2017-07-17). "Ringold Alley's Leather Memoir – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World". Artandarchitecture-sf.com. Retrieved 2019-12-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b c Paull, Laura (21 June 2018). "Honoring gay leather culture with art installation in SoMa alleyway – J". J. Jweekly.com. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  11. ^ Cindy on July 17, 2017 (2017-07-17). "Ringold Alley's Leather Memoir – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World". Artandarchitecture-sf.com. Retrieved 2019-12-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Leather Archives & Museum". X (formerly Twitter). 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2024-05-27. Chuck Arnett (1928-1988) was a dancer and artist, painter of The Tool Box mural made famous in Life magazine. Detail from one of Arnett's sketchbooks in the @leatherarchives.
  13. ^ Fritscher, Jack; Hemry, Mark (2007). Gay San Francisco: eyewitness Drummer: a memoir of the sex, art, salon, pop culture war, and gay history of Drummer magazine, the titanic 1970s to 1999 (Collectors' limited ed., illustrated ed.). San Francisco: Palm Drive Pub. ISBN 978-1-890834-38-8. OCLC 268739395.
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