Art inspired by AIDS delivers timeless messages
Dr. William Valenti has this iconic poster by New York City artist Keith Haring in his home office. He sees it every day and continues to be inspired by the power of the message. Credit: Dr. William Valenti
There was a time when I dabbled in painting. Like a lot of kids of my era, I started with Paint by Numbers. Unfortunately, none of my early works have survived. Later, after trips to museums and learning the difference between Picasso and Pissarro in high school art class, I became an art lover.
My high school art class taught us to think about what the artist was trying to portray, and my interest in art coalesced during the early days of the AIDS epidemic when art was used to convey a message. Often, the message was informative and educational. Other times, it was political and called for more money for drugs, research and patient care.
Messages contained in the art also could be about how HIV was spread, about safer sex and condoms, and often about how HIV didn’t “discriminate.” Another common theme tried to dispel stigma and shaming.
When we opened Community Health Network, our AIDS clinic in Rochester, we invited local artists to create and/or donate works of art that were positive and joyful. We wanted to create an environment that was encouraging and uplifting for patients.
A friend and local artist Michael Chiazza offered to create a commemorative poster. He created 100 silk screen prints titled “Dance.” We used them as gifts and auction items. A number of them still survive and are displayed at Trillium Health and in private collections around town.
Michael Chiazza created “Dance” as a commemorative poster for Community Health Network. Credit: Collection of Dr. William Valenti
Michael noted that while there are pills and bandages that speak to a health issues, there are also things in people’s lives that have meaning and hope – sailboats, food, fish, cars. The cat still makes me laugh all these years later.
Another friend Bill Copley, a surrealist artist and contemporary of DuChamp and Warhol, created the prophetic “Break-Thru” (1989). It was a gift to commemorate the End of AIDS. In his words – “This painting shows the joy that will one day surely happen; the end of AIDS.”
Bill Copley’s “Break Thru” anticipates the end of AIDS. Credit: Collection of Dr. William Valenti
When he presented it to me, he said “This is your goal. You can do it.” Forty years later, with advances in treatment and prevention, we reached a point where we can discuss this seriously.
Keith Haring was a New York City street artist. He came into prominence during the early days of AIDS with the posters he created for the advocacy group, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). Silence = Death/ Ignorance = Fear became his calling card. It is as true today during COVID as it was in 1989. A person living with AIDS, he died in 1990.
Keith Haring, a New York City artist, created iconic images of in the early days of the HIV epidemic. Credit: Collection of Dr. William Valenti
This Haring poster is in my living room and I see it every day. When I do Zoom calls with the poster behind me, some ask about it and my response is always the same – the message still is relevant in today’s pandemic. What’s past is prologue, to quote William Shakespeare in The Tempest.
The symbolism of the mandala represented the mission of Community Health Network. Credit: Collection of Dr. William Valenti
During the planning for Community Health Network, our volunteer PR committee thought we needed a logo. We struggled with this and one of the group suggested a mandala. As she put it, the mandala is very spiritual and signifies spirituality, healing, enlightenment, compassion and wholeness. That was the message we were trying to send with CHN. A local artist, whose name escapes me, created this stylized version.
When I look at these pictures, I see myself 40 years ago, trying to find something positive in all the death and dying that was happening all around me. Looking at these works somehow lightened my mood when I often felt powerless to really make an impact on the epidemic.
Today, I am still inspired by these and other works of art inspired by the epidemic. The messages are timeless.
If you want to know more, here are some references on the artists and their work:
Copley: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Copley_(artist)
Haring: www.haring.com
Mandala: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala