Gerardo Velazquez

This article is about the visual artist and musician. For the actor, see Jerry Velázquez.

Gerardo Velazquez (1958–1992) was a visual artist and musician, who was notably a member of the Los Angeles-based punk group Nervous Gender.

Life and Education

Went to Stevenson Middle school. Velazquez received his MFA at California State University, Los Angeles in 1990.[1] Attended for 15 years, and Created his own course study. He had a wide range of disciplines: "literary studies, genetics, human sexuality, visual studies, musicology, digital technology, and religious studies".[2] After his AIDs diagnosis, Velazquez turned to activism with a series of self-published zines such as The Annals of Selective Annihilation: Interplanetary Journal for the Retention of Power Through the Elimination of a Targeted Population (1990) and The Gay Death List: The Magazine of Art and Opportunistic Investments (1990).[3]

Velazquez died in 1992 of AIDS-related complications at age 33.[4] His papers are held at the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives.

Artistry

Gerardo Velazquez created art in a multitude of medias. He wrote poems such as "Falsetto Boy", and many others that were preformed for a spoken word album Voices of the Angels. [5] He created painting like "The Neglected Martyr" which spoke to his many academic disciplines incorporating religious iconography into his artwork.[6] Much of his artwork revolved around his band, creating many graphic band flyers, music videos, and synth scores.[7]

Posthumously, his work has been exhibited in such exhibitions as the Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A. at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2017 and the 2023-24 touring exhibition Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines that travelled to the Brooklyn Museum and the Vancouver Art Gallery.[8]

Nervous Gender

The band Nervous Gender formed in October 1978. Members of the band when it first started were Michael Ochoa, Phranc, Edward Stapleton, and Gerardo.[9] Nervous Gender was known for their confrontational and antagonistic performances that was unapologetically queer and anti-Catholic in theme. The band still continues to preform, most recently in March 2015.[10]

References

  1. ^ Liz Ohansian (16 October 2017). "EAST L.A. PUNK PIONEER GERARDO VELASQUEZ LIVES ON IN A CHINATOWN GALLERY SHOW". LA Weekly. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  2. ^ Alvarado, Leticia; Bryan-Wilson, Julia; Doonan, Simon; Gómez-Barris, Macarena; Gunckel, Colin; Guzmán, Joshua; Ramos, Iván; Rodríguez, Richard T.; Chavoya, C. Ondine, eds. (2017). Axis Mundo: Queer networks in Chicano L.A. München: Prestel. p. 401. ISBN 978-3-7913-5669-3.
  3. ^ Liz Ohansian (16 October 2017). "EAST L.A. PUNK PIONEER GERARDO VELASQUEZ LIVES ON IN A CHINATOWN GALLERY SHOW". LA Weekly. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  4. ^ Matt Stromberg (11 December 2017). "The Valentine's Day Tape an Avant-Garde Musician Left Behind". Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  5. ^ Chavoya, C. Ondine; Frantz, David Evans; Gómez-Barris, Macarena; Alvarado, Leticia; Bryan-Wilson, Julia; Doonan, Simon; Gunckel, Colin; Guzmán, Joshua Javier; Ramos, Iván A., eds. (2017). Axis Mundo: queer networks in Chicano L.A. Los Angeles : Munich, Germany: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries; DelMonico Books-Prestel. pp. 297–301. ISBN 978-3-7913-5669-3.
  6. ^ Chavoya, C. Ondine; Frantz, David Evans; Gómez-Barris, Macarena; Alvarado, Leticia; Bryan-Wilson, Julia; Doonan, Simon; Gunckel, Colin; Guzmán, Joshua Javier; Ramos, Iván A., eds. (2017). Axis Mundo: queer networks in Chicano L.A. Los Angeles : Munich, Germany: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries; DelMonico Books-Prestel. pp. 308–309. ISBN 978-3-7913-5669-3.
  7. ^ Chavoya, C. Ondine; Frantz, David Evans; Gómez-Barris, Macarena; Alvarado, Leticia; Bryan-Wilson, Julia; Doonan, Simon; Gunckel, Colin; Guzmán, Joshua Javier; Ramos, Iván A., eds. (2017). Axis Mundo: queer networks in Chicano L.A. Los Angeles : Munich, Germany: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries; DelMonico Books-Prestel. pp. 288–295. ISBN 978-3-7913-5669-3.
  8. ^ "Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  9. ^ Alvarado, Leticia; Bryan-Wilson, Julia; Doonan, Simon; Gómez-Barris, Macarena; Gunckel, Colin; Guzmán, Joshua; Ramos, Iván; Rodríguez, Richard T.; Chavoya, C. Ondine, eds. (2017). Axis Mundo: Queer networks in Chicano L.A. München: Prestel. p. 401. ISBN 978-3-7913-5669-3.
  10. ^ Alvarado, Leticia; Bryan-Wilson, Julia; Doonan, Simon; Gómez-Barris, Macarena; Gunckel, Colin; Guzmán, Joshua; Ramos, Iván; Rodríguez, Richard T.; Chavoya, C. Ondine, eds. (2017). Axis Mundo: Queer networks in Chicano L.A. München: Prestel. p. 401. ISBN 978-3-7913-5669-3.
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