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Title: Camera Obscura papers
Dates: circa 1995
Collection Number: 2023-09
Creator/Collector:
Camera Obscura
Extent: .5 linear feet (1 hard drive)
Repository:
GLBT Historical Society
San Francisco, California 94103
Abstract: The collection includes Camera Obscura’s film “Virtue,” a 66-minute film that the creator describes as a “transgender musical
[that] is a Twilight-Zone-style cautionary tale about technology.” It debuted at the Lumiere Theater in San Francisco. The
film showcases the 1990s queer punk club scene alongside a critique of the burgeoning tech sector in Silicon Valley. Performers
featured in the film include: Elvis Herselvis, Henry Steele, Arturo Galster as Patsy Cline, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,
composer Beth Custer of Club Foot Orchestra, and others. Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys makes a cameo appearance. The film
is stored on a hard drive.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright to material has not been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. Copyright is retained by the donor. All requests
for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical
Society Archivist. Permission for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material is given on behalf of
the GLBT Historical Society 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 by the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Camera Obscura papers. Collection Number: 2023-09. GLBT Historical Society
Gift of Camera Obscura, January 2023.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection includes Camera Obscura’s film “Virtue,” a 66-minute film that the creator describes as a “transgender musical
[that] is a Twilight-Zone-style cautionary tale about technology.” It debuted at the Lumiere Theater in San Francisco. The
film showcases the 1990s queer punk club scene alongside a critique of the burgeoning tech sector in Silicon Valley. Performers
featured in the film include: Elvis Herselvis, Henry Steele, Arturo Galster as Patsy Cline, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,
composer Beth Custer of Club Foot Orchestra, and others. Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys makes a cameo appearance. The film
is stored on a hard drive.
LGBTQ
Transgender people
Motion pictures
Nightlife
San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.)