In Search of the Glass Slipper, San Francisco, 1974

In Search of the Glass Slipper, San Francisco, 1974

Photographs by Perci Chester offering a window into the pre-AIDS era in San Francisco

Traffic Zone Gallery presents In Search of the Glass Slipper, San Francisco, 1974, Photographs by Perci Chester. Curated from a series of roughly 200 photographs taken over the course of six months in 1974, Chester’s photographs offer a window into the gay pre-AIDS era in San Francisco. As a recent art school graduate, she collected portraits and stories – focusing her lens on courting and courtiers, lovers and flirts, vulnerable in an historically laissez-faire city. This work is an exploration of identity that reveals the seldom seen and recalls a unique moment in time.

Artist Statement
This series began with an invitation to a house party in the mid ‘70s in San Francisco -- a city that embraced a broad spectrum of creative energy. The resulting images are ennobling; they document a community in which personal expression, friendship and theater thrived, protected and partially hidden from view. I appreciate the trust that allowed me to record these moments.



Gallery Hours:
Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and by appointment


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