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“…Homosexuality transcends culture, geography and race. Homophobia is the same in New York City as it is in Russia…our sexual freedom is as reviled in America as in Uganda…and yet we are all moving forward on a global scale… the legalization of our unions is spanning continents, the unmistakable softness of our gestures transcends language. I don’t know if these universal similarities make “Gay” a culture, a race or a shared experience. What I do know is that they stir a deep pride in me that is almost religious.” – Leo Herrera

About “The Fortune Teller”

The Fortune Teller is a film by gay artist/activist Leo Herrera, chronicling milestones and icons of the modern gay man. The story is told through the trance of The Fortune Teller (played by Stanley Frank) and created using archival and modern footage. The film is a documentary and time capsule, paying homage to psychedelic films of the 1960′s and the modern art of the YouTube Montage film. From Mapplethorpe to Lohanthony, Uganda to Burning Man, Vogue to Sissy Bounce, AIDS to The Berlin Patient, meticulously edited clips create a kaleidoscopic five-minute journey through more than 50 years of gay history. See the “The Fortune Teller” decoded for a visual legend to the clips.

 “The Fortune Teller” is comprised of over 50 years of imagery and footage. The 5-minute clip took six months to film and assemble, and is made up of 100 carefully selected clips. The style is a take on Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” video, or The Scissor Sister’s “Let’s Have a KiKi”. It also pays homage to some of our modern day gay “preachers,” such as Chris Crocker or Lohanthony, or Kid Fury, who, as we always have, developed ways to use technology to reach one another.

Adding Your Story

The Fortune Teller does not attempt to be an all-encompassing history; the clips in the Fortune Teller were curated based on icons and moments personally selected by Leo as they defined him as a gay man and the gay community world over.

During the next few week of Pride month it’s Leo’s hope you  contribute to his project and will tell your story, adding to his, by sharing your own history with being gay, coming out, or perhaps sharing the story of someone in your life who has come out as you post this video on Facebook and Twitter.

Artist Statement

“This film was created  with the hopes that every gay man can find something to identify with. The Fortune Teller does not attempt to be an all-encompassing history; the clips in the Fortune Teller were curated based on icons and moments that personally defined me as a gay man. Mexican singer Juan Gabriel was the first gay person I identified with as a child, I’ve sat many nights laughing at Kid Fury’s preacher-like passion and razor wit, I still remember the first time I saw the androgynous Karis perform in the Scissor Sister’s Filthy/Gorgeous video and thought “I can be that?!” or the moment Hedwig sang Wicked Little Town and reminded me of the unrequited love of high school. My work in HIV Criminalization has made me see how deeply ingrained the stigma of HIV is within our community and my wild nights in San Francisco’s nightlife has shown me that a party can be a cathartic communal experience.”

“I grew up an illegal Mexican immigrant in Republican Arizona, as far from “gay” as possible. Yet, the challenges and hopes I’ve faced as a gay man are the same as all of my peers across the world, as if homosexuality transcends culture, geography and race. Homophobia is the same in New York City as it is in Russia, HIV and its stigma are as devastating in the South as they are in San Francisco, our sexual freedom is as reviled in America as in Uganda…and yet we are all moving forward on a global scale: our contributions to nightlife and the arts are as pronounced in Berlin as they are in Provincetown, the legalization of our unions is spanning continents, the unmistakable softness of our gestures transcends language. I don’t know if these universal similarities make “Gay” a culture, a race or a shared experience. What I do know is that they stir a deep pride in me that is almost religious.” 

 THE FORTUNE TELLER: Decoded

The Fortune Teller, played by San Francisco performance artist Stanley Frank, paying homage to filmmaker Jack Smith. Audio excerpt is Professor Marvel’s introduction in The Wizard of Oz, 1939.

Vintage Photography of men purchased from photography collector at Chelsea’s Flea Market, NYC

Video instructing how to give CPR to a person with AIDS. 1980′s

WWII Concentration Camp, Pink Triangle Prisoners, 1930′s

Diane Feinstein announces the deaths of Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone, San Francisco 10.27.1978

Harvey Milk, Pride Parade. San Francisco, 6.25.1978

The Black Soft, Music Band, NYC (@theblacksoft), 2013

Electro-Shock Therapy to treat homosexuality in the 1940′s

Westboro Baptist Church Member, 2000′s

“Kill The Gays” Anti-Gay Parade, Uganda, 2011 AUDIO:  Anti-Gay School Crusade 1960′s

“One Father and One Mother” Anti-Gay Protest, Paris 2011

Russian Police (OMOH) shut down Gay Pride parade, 2011

Ted Haggard Preaches against homosexuality, prior to Homosexual Scandal in 2006

Rolling Stone Cover, Uganda 2010

Murdered Uganda Gay Activist David Kato’s Funeral, 2011

“What’s Going On” Jonah Mowry Video Confession 2011

Sylvester, You Make Me Feel Mighty Real, 1978

Wakefield Poole’s “Bijou” 1972

Aaron Jackson paints house across from Westboro Church, 2013

Kid Fury on Shade, 2012

The Black Soft, Music Video, 2012

Tom Higgins pies Anita Bryant, Des Moines, 1977

Belgian Police clash with Anti-Gay Protesters, 2011

Voguing, NYC 2005

“Chris Crocker Blinks”, 2008

Halston takes a bow after fashion show, 1970′s

“My Son Is Gay” short film by John Roberts, 2011

Mapplethorpe gets his nipple pierced, 1971

Leather Daddy, YouTube Erotica, 2012

James St. James and Michael Alig, NYC 1980′s, film by Nelson Sullivan

Rupaul, 1986, film by Nelson Sullivan

Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 2001

Lohanthony, “Calling all the basic bitches”, 2012

Bacha Baszi Boy, Afghanistan 1980′s

Sylvester, “You Make Me Feel”, SFX Composition 1978/2012

Cazwell, Ice Cream Truck by Marco Orvando, 2011

Provincetown Bear Week, 2012

Pup Boss Jyan, showing Puppy Hoods, 2012

Diego and Wagner on the set of Michael Lucas’s “Original Sinners” film, by QueerMeNow, 2013

Harry Hay, founder of The Mattachine Society one of the many fathers of The Radical Faeries

Kiddie at Miss Trannyshack Pageant 2007

HIV Virus infecting Human Cells, 2000′s

News report on AIDS, Patient with KS, 1981

Man gets BioHazard HIV Positive Tattoo, 2000′s

“Military Party” Gay Cruise, 2011                                       AUDIO: News Report on Zuriel Roush, wrongly accused of HIV Crimes, 2010. For more on the dangers of HIV Criminalization Laws, please visit TheSeroProject

Afghanistan Fire Fight, 2000′s

Oraquick over-the-counter home HIV Test Commercial, 2012

Timothy Ray Brown, “The Berlin Patient” Cured of HIV 2009

Sister Unity, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence 2009

Mexican Gay Rodeo, Pico Rivera California, 2010

Traditional African Gay Wedding, Kwadukuza, 2013

George Michael, “Outside” Music Video, 1998

Javier Ninja, Vogue Battle, House Dance International NYC 2007

Ssion, “Clown” Music Video, 2010

New Orleans Sissy Bounce Concert, 2000′s

Karis in Scissor Sister’s Filthy/Gorgeous video, dir by John Cameron Mitchell, 2004

Juan Gabriel en el Palasio de Bellas Artes, 1992

Flags at Comfort & Joy, Gay Camp at Burning Man 2000′s

Some of the images in “Fortune Teller” come from the archives of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco, where I was an intern in 2005-2006. For more information on the society and The GLBT History Museum it sponsors in the Castro, visit www.glbthistory.org.