Tag Archives: HIV/AIDS

Pills Can’t Stop the Inevitable: The Candy Art of Felix Gonzalez-Torres

An artist shows his audience the futility of fighting death

The late artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres was no stranger to the issue of mortality. In one of his works, he tackled the subject of death from the perspective of HIV/AIDS patients, depicting scenes of empty beds on billboards. Earlier in his … Continue reading

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No Body There: The Empty Bed And The HIV/AIDS Crisis

Felix Gonzalez-Torres' billboard installation "Untitled" speaks to love and loss

Between February 20th and March 18th of 1991, 24 billboards throughout Manhattan showcased the monochrome image of an unmade double bed with rumpled sheets and depressions of a head in the center of each of the two pillows. No explanation accompanied the image; … Continue reading

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The AIDS Memorial Quilt

An ongoing project that began in San Francisco continues to remember those lost to AIDS

With World AIDS Day being this week, we thought it would be an appropriate time to reflect on the efforts of an important, ongoing project: the AIDS memorial quilt. The quilt, which is known as the largest collaborative project of … Continue reading

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“Silverlake Life: The View from Here” by Tom Joslin and Peter Friedman

Tom Joslin, with help from Peter Friedmen, documents the final moments of his life before succumbing to AIDS in the critically acclaimed documentary "Silverlake Life: The View from Here."

“Silverlake Life: The View from Here” (1993) is not a typical documentary about AIDS. There are no footnotes in this film. No historical context or textbook definitions are given. While the protagonists visit many doctors and healers throughout the film, … Continue reading

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“The Man with Night Sweats” by Thom Gunn

Thom Gunn memorializes his loved ones who died of AIDS

Thom Gunn’s The Man with Night Sweats (1992) memorializes a San Francisco poet’s tragic losses due to AIDS. An “Anglo-American poet” known for his brainy yet visceral formal verse, the late British expatriate often wrote in meter and rhyme about his … Continue reading

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