Collection Guide
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Velázquez (Gerardo) papers
Coll2017-014
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Gerardo Velázquez papers
creator:
Velázquez, Gerardo (Gerardo de Jesús), 1958-1992
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2017-014
Physical Description:
7.8 Linear Feet
9 boxes.
Date (inclusive): 1973-2009
Abstract: Writings, photographs, drawings, journals, videocassettes, chapbooks, personal papers and other materials (1973-2009) from
multimedia artist and musician Gerardo Velázquez, best known as a founding member of the Los Angeles punk band Nervous Gender.
The bulk of the collection is Velázquez's writings and creative projects that include zine-like pamphlets and poetry books;
elements for multimedia art installations; collages, drawings and photographic series; and publicity flyers and posters for
Nervous Gender. The collection also includes personal papers such as journals, notebooks, school records, legal records,
and materials documenting his HIV status.
Language of Material: The bulk of the collection materials are in English. Some materials are in Spanish.
This collection is divided into four series: (1) Writings, drawings and other creative works; (2) Personal papers; (3) Photographs;
and (4) Sound and video recordings.
Gerardo de Jesús Velázquez was born in Mexico in 1958. At a young age, he and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he later
attended Stevenson Middle School in East Los Angeles. It was at Stevenson where he met his friend Michael Ochoa. The two
later met Edward Stapleton and Phranc, and in 1978, the four of them would form the earliest iteration of the electropunk/technopunk
band Nervous Gender. Nervous Gender recorded one album, Music From Hell, in 1981. Throughout the 1980s, when he was involved
with Nervous Gender, Velázquez attended California State University Los Angeles (CSULA). He continued developing his own
body of artwork that incorporated multiple disciplines and areas of study, including poetry, photography, digital art, video
art, performance art, music, physics, biology, religion, and sexuality. During this time, he also had jobs as a graphic designer
and computer technician. Velázquez died of AIDS-related complications in 1992.
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries 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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The bulk of the collection, including three paintings, was donated by Tammy Fraser and Joseph Zinnato on December 22, 2014.
The remainder of the collection was donated by Edward Stapleton on August 1, 2015 and July 23, 2016.
[Box/folder #, or item name] Gerardo Velázquez Papers, Coll2017-014, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California.
Collection processed by Loni Shibuyama, 2017.
The collection comprises writings, photographs, drawings, journals, videocassettes, chapbooks, personal papers and other materials
(1973-2009) from multimedia artist and musician Gerardo Velázquez, best known as a founding member of the Los Angeles punk
band Nervous Gender. The Writings, Drawings and Creative Works Series includes several self-published booklets of Velázquez's
poems and artwork; publicity materials documenting his exhibitions and performances; unpublished writings and notes for works
in progress; and materials created for Nervous Gender. The Personal Papers Series comprises journals, notebooks, correspondence,
autobiographical writings, employment documents, legal records, school records, health records and other papers collected
by Velázquez. The Photographs Series includes photographs created as elements for Velázquez's multimedia installations and
photo essays, as well as personal photographs documenting his family and friends. The Sound and Video Recordings include
the Nervous Gender album "Music from Hell," as well as video elements used for Velázquez's multimedia installations, including
the exhibit entitled "Violation."
The following have been separated to the ONE Archives periodicals collection:
[AIDS Project Los Angeles] APLA Update (July/August 1990; March 1991; June 1991
[AIDS Project Los Angeles] Optimist (Fall 1990; Winter 1991; Summer 1991)
Being Alive newsletter (February 1991)
Vision, Monthly Bilingual Newsletter (May 1991)
The following have been separated to the ONE comic book collection:
Bloodstream Follies, 1989
Chicos Modernos, Vol. II, 1989
The following paintings, all originally shown in his MFA thesis show
Piss n' Blood at Cal State Los Angeles (December 9–13, 1990), have been separated to the ONE Archives Art Collection:
Gerardo Velázquez,
The Neglected Martyr, 1990
Gerardo Velázquez,
The Fantastical Disseminator, 1990
Gerardo Velázquez,
Piss n' Blood, 1990
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gay artists -- United States
Gay men's writings
Gay photographers
Hispanic American gays
Photographs -- California -- Los Angeles
Poems
Punk culture
Punk rock music
Nervous Gender (Musical group)