I thought this was pretty interesting.  Source:  e-mail from Billy Glover carries this story about an exhibit at the San Antonio Museum of Contempary Art.

How many of us thought we had some kind of camouflage on?  Have we worn it so long it has stained our skin?  Is emotional, spiritual, relational camouflage so long  been a part of our lives that we could no longer recognize our authentic selves?  I wonder if those of who have lived long periods of our lives with such camouflage have actually moved back and forth between “cover-up is fun” and “closet = despair.” — D.H.

Contemporary Art Month in March • by Gene Elder

The HAPPY Foundation celebrates CAM: March with this article about the history of camouflage and honors the memory of William Pahlmann, an internationally-known interior designer.

Pahlman was born December 12, 1900, grew up in San Antonio where he graduated from the old Main Avenue High School (now know as Fox Academic and Tech High School ) and then from the Parsons School of Design in New York City and Paris

Pahlmann embarked on his professional career as an interior designer moving into the position of chief executive of the interior design department and buyer of antique objects for Lord & Taylor. During the 1930s at Lord & Taylor, he launched his concept of model rooms to provide additional merchandise display and emphasize the value of advance planning of interiors. These distinguished model rooms achieved the reputation of art exhibitions and attracted an international following.

Pahlmann led the movement to integrate antiques into modern living arrangements and is considered the founder of the Eclectic School in Interior Design.

At the outbreak of World War II Pahlmann accepted a commission in the Army Air Force, where he served throughout the war in various duty posts, emerging as a Lieutenant Colonel. In one of his duty stations during the war he served as the director of camouflage school in St. Louis, Missouri, Jefferson Barracks, and in South Carolina. During this time he developed ideas about how to architecturally disguise locations by building false architectural exteriors. Netting and the patterns used on combat uniforms were also redesigned for modern warfare.

The camouflage design that we know and love today is attributed to William Pahlmann. Each terrain required a different design. It does seem logical that camouflage would come naturally to a gay designer since we know that growing up in a straight world we have all had to camouflage our gayness.

Pahlmann made many important contributions to the military and to the advancement of camouflage as a talented designer. It is important to note that during this CAM:March after listening to the military’s reasons for resisting the lifting of the ban on gays and lesbians that something as fundamental and as popular as the camouflage design we see today on our military personnel owes its success to a gay San Antonio designer who served in the military.

After the war Pahlmann worked as the Interior Design and Decoration Editor for Harper’s Bazaar and contributed to the syndicated column “A Matter Of Taste.” He then formed William Pahlmann Associates in New York City, which he headed until his retirement in 1977.

Throughout Pahlmann’s career he received numerous awards and citations for excellence in design. He was made a Fellow of the American Society of Interior Designers and was honored with the prestigious Elsie de Wolfe Award. In 1979 he received the Designer of Distinction Award for lifetime achievement.

Interiors of many of the best known stores and hotels in the country were designed by Pahlmann. He not only designed the exhibition rooms for Lord & Taylor but also interiors for Bonwit Teller; for the Matchabelli Crown Room; for the Henry Morgan Company Ltd; the overseas Press Club; and private homes in the United States, Canada, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.

The list also includes the interiors of the Lombardy Hotel, the Ziegfield Theatre, the Carnival Room of the Sherry-Netherlands Hotel the Billy Rose home, the John Wanamaker Cross Country Store, and Students Activities Building at the University of South Carolina. Seven buildings at Texas A&M have interiors designed by him and the Pahlmann Research Library where he left his books, is in the A&M Architectural School.

Pahlmann originated many widely popular innovations such as the over -scaled cocktail table, the double and triple chest, the double headboard and mobile furniture on rubber-tired casters. His “Hastings Square” contemporary furniture is sold all over the country. He has also designed fabrics, carpets, bedspreads, and served as president and chairmen of the board of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Decorators.

Pahlmann wrote the William Pahlmann Book of Interior Design and his papers and journals were left to the The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Delaware. In Pahlmann’s book about interior design, he covers all the rooms—the Living Room, Dining Room, Living-Dining Room, Library, Study, Den, Master Bedroom, Children’s Bedroom, Guest Room, Foyer, Power Room and Bathroom, the Kitchen, Porch, the Patio, and Terrace … even the ceilings, walls, floors, and windows.

Everything is discussed but The Closet. How did one decorate the closet in the 30s, 40s, and 50s? Why of course, you very smartly camouflaged it so that no one would know it was there.

Pahlmann died at the age of 86, November 8, 1987, in Guadalajara, Mexico. He always maintained a residence on the San Antonio River, near the Alamo, as well as home in New York City and Mexico. He was survived by his long-time partner of 30 years Jack Conners.

Gene Elder is an arts activist and the Archives Director for the HAPPY Foundation.