Roger Erickson: OUTspoken
Curator. San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries: City Hall. June - September 2015
The San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries’ Art at City Hall program presents the first major exhibition of work by Bay Area native Roger Erickson, one of the foremost music, fashion, and celebrity photographers of his generation. Widely published in outlets ranging from Vogue to Rolling Stone, Erickson turns his lens over the past six years toward creating a substantial body of portraits of LGBTQ public figures. In celebration of San Francisco’s annual PRIDE festivities, the exhibition features more than 80 images that capture the breadth and vitality of queer visibility, with newly commissioned portraits of local LGBTQ creatives shown in dialogue with nationally recognized figures.
Erickson’s luminous photographs portray actors, musicians, artists, athletes, clergy, activists, and civic leaders with equal intimacy and power. Celebrities such as Wanda Sykes, Greg Louganis, Rachel Maddow, Edward Albee, and Chris Colfer appear alongside San Francisco luminaries including author Michelle Tea, drag icon Peaches Christ, choreographer Sean Dorsey, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Newly commissioned portraits celebrate members of the Bay Area’s creative community, from emerging curators and musicians to established artists and performers. Together, these works affirm the richness and diversity of LGBTQ identity, while honoring San Francisco as a city where creative expression and social progress are inextricably intertwined.
About Roger Erickson
Roger Erickson, is an American author, filmmaker and photographer. Ericksonr is an Oakland, California native. After studying at San Francisco State University, he relocated to London to embark on a career in editorial photography. His early breakthrough came in 1990 with commissioned assignments featuring Motörhead, Neil Young and Crazy Horse for Select Magazine. In 1991, he relocated to London, where he began his career photographing musicians. In 2003, he became the first African American to photograph a cover of Vogue magazine featuring Paulina Rubio on the March cover of Vogue en español, and Lily Aldridge on the August cover of Vogue México y Latinoamérica. In 2017, Erickson photographed his third portfolio issue of “Out100” for Out Magazine. His images have been published in Vogue México y Latinoamérica, Harper's Bazaar (UK), ELLE (France), GQ (US), Entertainment Weekly, Out Magazine, Flaunt Magazine, Q Magazine, ESPN Magazine, The Source Magazine, Ebony Magazine, and The Advocate..
In 2024, Goff Books released FLOSS, a collection of monographs showcasing retrospective photographs by Erickson, highlighting Hip Hop and Rock’n Roll music artists from the 1990s through the 2020s. These uniquely stylized images explore the aspirational, unrestrained and often extravagant nature of artists during an era when urban pop culture burst into international prominence. His wholly original vision captures the vitality of urban music, arts and culture in the ’90s. Often delving into the psyche of these personages for his inspiration, crafting iconic conceptual portraits that have become synonymous with the recording artists. The celebrities include Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre, Eminem, Joan Jett, Neil Young, Ozzy Osbourne, Ice Cube, Lil’KIm, Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Da Brat, Ja Rule, Nelly, EVE, and many more.