Castro Theater Print

Castro Theater with movie-goers at twilight lining up for the 24th San Francisco Lesbian & Gay Film Festival at in San Francisco’s Castro District. Open Edition lithographic print signed in gold ink. This film festival is an annual tradition and a celebration of gay and lesbian culture in the heart of San Francisco. You might also like It’s an LGBT World Print, and the book, Art Deco: Flights of Artistic Fancy by Susan Sternau.

About the Frameline Film Festival:

Founded in 1977, the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival is the longest-running, largest and most widely recognized LGBTQ film exhibition event in the world. As a community event with an annual attendance of 63,000, the Festival is the most prominent and well-attended LGBTQ arts program in the Bay Area. The Castro Theater is one of several venues that host the event which is scheduled in June, the month that San Francisco celebrates Pride.

The Castro Theater and Art Deco in San Francisco:

From the glowing neon sign of the Castro Theater, to the soaring towers of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is a city defined as much by Art Deco style as by its famed Victorian houses. Generations of artists, myself included, have been inspired by the city’s architecture, which is dramatized by its steep hills and pearly light. The early evening light during the long days of June when the film festival takes place makes for particularly beautiful sunsets, like the one I tried to capture here. This print was made from the second of two oil paintings I painted of the Castro Theater at Twilight. I also painted a number of watercolors of the same scene in various sizes, and some ceramic tiles as well. If you are interested, please contact me so I can give you details.

Art Deco is a modern design movement that reached its greatest popularity in the decade between 1925 and 1935. In 1925, Art Deco made a splash in Paris at the International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, after which it quickly became popular in the United States and internationally. Hollywood movies promoted it as the style of the stars: the use of Art Deco costumes, furniture, and sets contributed to the popularity and rapid spread of the style, as did the building of many theaters in the Art Deco style.