Hector Silva’s work paved the way for latino artists in the gay community. Sometimes quaintly called “erotic,” his explicit imagery normalized gay sex by demonstrating the intimacy of lovemaking. Even if his impact was restricted to only Los Angeles’s often conflicted latino gay community, it would be important, but it found an audience far beyond his home community. It brazenly illustrated the love and adoration between two men, and it challenged any who saw it to rethink their own conception of what it meant to be queer and Latino. Self-taught, Silva draws on traditions of Chicano prison art, but the daring representation of gay sex moved that tradition in brave, new directions. In recent years, his work has expanded, leaving behind the more explicitly pornographic imagery to examine family scenes, religious iconography, and day of the dead celebrations. While not as widely celebrated, it should not be underestimated. Nor should it allow us to forget what Silva’s erotic work did for LA’s gay community.
Roger Thompson
Associate Professor, Stony Brook University
