Kathleen Sullivan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, April 1, 2005
As an urban photographer, Rhodney Entrekin is inspired by reflections -- from cars distorted into goofy shapes in the windows of an office building to the eerie play of moonlight on ocean waves at Aquatic Park.
Entrekin, who began shooting city scenes a couple of years ago, is one of many amateur photographers whose work will be displayed in "Stories of the City: Sixth Street Photography Workshop,'' which opens Sunday at the San Francisco Main Public Library.
The exhibition showcases work created during the last 12 years by nearly two dozen students at the Sixth Street Photography Workshop, which offers free classes -- as well as free film, paper, cameras and access to its studio and darkroom -- for young people and adults who are poor or homeless.
Entrekin, an artist who once took pictures of his own sculptures and drawings, heard about the classes from his social worker about two years ago.
"Unfortunately, I don't have that artwork anymore, because I've gone through depressed periods and lost all that to eviction and homelessness,'' he said. "I lost almost 20 years of drawings and some real expensive sculptures. I lost a suitcase-and-a-half of negatives and prints.''
Entrekin, 55, now roams the city, his camera loaded with black-and-white film, looking for new images to capture.
"Occasionally I go into the Asian Art Museum on their free day -- the first Tuesday of the month -- and shoot the artworks,'' he said.
Entrekin, who called the workshop his "saving grace,'' recently started helping to teach the beginning class at the Sixth Street Photography Workshop.
"Stories of the City'' will be shown in two locations: the Jewett Gallery in the lower level of the Main Library and the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in the lower level of City Hall.
Both exhibitions, which draw on the workshop's photography archives dating to 1992, include portraits of residents living in and around several of the city's single-room occupancy hotels. The exhibition at City Hall will also include more than two dozen personal works by the workshop's photographers.
Amanda Herman, program director at the Sixth Street Photography Workshop, said that about half of its students arrive for their first class having never touched a camera before. Others have studied photography in college, and the classes give them the opportunity to start shooting pictures again.
Herman said the students are drawn to a variety of themes, including landscapes and portraits.
During the beginning class, they learn about how to use a camera, compose and frame pictures, and develop film. Classes also include field trips, slide lectures, talks by local and national guest photographers, and trips to museums and galleries.
Advanced students -- some of the workshop's photographers have been involved in the workshop for a decade -- create special photographic projects and mount exhibitions.
Herman said the students are highly motivated -- attentive and excited -- and a joy to teach.
"They're so excited to be doing something so different from their regular life and what they've been immersed in -- dealing with social workers and standing in line to get food,'' she said.
"This is a really different experience. We don't talk about being homeless. We don't necessarily focus on that. We never tell them what to photograph. We really focus on them being creative.''
The exhibition at the library, which features 50 photographs, also includes 16 personal stories -- taken from interviews with the subjects by Nancy Deutsch, author and editor of "Voices of Our Own: Mothers, Daughters and Elders of the Tenderloin Tell Their Stories.''
To do the interviews, Deutsch accompanied workshop students to the single- room occupancy hotels where residents sat for portraits.
Deutsch, who transcribed the interviews and edited the stories so they would fit on a single page for the exhibition, said the stories revealed real personal strength and courage and gave her a new appreciation for people living on the streets.
"I will never see a homeless person on the street in the same way,'' she said. "They were very articulate about their experiences and the pain they had seen and been through. The strength of vision for what they want for their lives and their community was the most powerful thing about the project.''
Charles Maxwell, a resident of Bayanihan House, a restored residential hotel on Sixth Street, once lived on the streets. He said homeless people come from every walk of life, have known tremendous troubles and need housing and treatment for mental illness and drug abuse so they can reclaim their lives.
"We've got a broad spectrum of homeless people,'' he told Deutsch. "We've got people that have doctorates, we have nurses, people who have been in law enforcement that have lost their jobs and been homeless. Teachers. We're not, uh, how can I put this, we're not a leper. We're not gonna poison the rest of society.''
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Where to go
-- "Stories of the City'' will be open from Sunday through May 29 in the Jewett Gallery, lower level of the San Francisco Main Public Library, 100 Larkin St. Presentation by artists, 3 p.m. April 23 in the Koret Auditorium in the Main Library, lower level.Free.
-- "Public Hearing,'' a kickoff reception 1-3 p.m. Saturday at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, second floor screening room, 701 Mission St. DVD of half-hour interviews with nine portrait subjects showing at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. $6, $3 for students, seniors and YBCA members.
-- "Stories of the City'' photographs will be on display April 13-July 22 at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, lower level of City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place (between McAllister and Grove streets). Opening reception at City Hall 5:30-7:30 p.m. April 13. Free. (415) 557-4277, www.sfpl.org.
-- For more information on the Sixth Street Photography Workshop, see www.sixthstreetphoto.org.
E-mail Kathleen Sullivan at ksullivan@sfchronicle.com
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