09/07/2026
Sylvester, was an American singer-songwriter. Primarily active in the genres of disco, rhythm and blues, and soul, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s and 1980s.
During the late 1970s, Sylvester gained the nickname of the “Queen of Disco” and during his life he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city.[4]In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, while his life has been recorded in a biography and made the subject of both a documentary and a musical.
During my 2011 portrait series of local Drag Artists called “Heroes with Bling”, I created this mosaic of Sylvester to represent him as an elder. Though he was not know as a “drag queen” at the time, he challenged gender norms with this personality, character music and dress. In the drag community that developed in the years after his death, Sylvester was held with respect and honor as one of the many founding individuals that eventually led to the freedoms of expression in the local SF Drag Community. Sylvester is still regarded with reverence, and, as such, I wanted to portray him as a sort of saintly figure watching over the community resulting in the halo or nimbus. Many of the Drag Artists I portrayed in this series were deeply touched by his inclusion, as he was the only one of the twelve, at the time, who was no longer living.
Artist Statement by Michael Kruzich
DM Bohemian Element or Mosaic Element for purchase information
