HIV/AIDS Impacting Art
Hal Bromm Gallery and HIV Arts Network
Sur Rodney Sur, John Reed and Hugh Ryan In Conversation with Doneley Meris: The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Luis Frangella and David Wojnarowicz And How Their Artistic Legacy Continues to Inspire Activism Today
Close friends, artists Luis Frangella and David Wojnarowicz maintained a creative force in the 1980s when they shared their passion for art and inspired those around them during the heyday of the East Village art scene. Diagnosed with HIV, they spoke against inhumane treatment and government indifference, with David's art becoming a tool to fight the AIDS epidemic. The illness reinforced their commitment to creating art and urged end-of-life compassion. How their life and death from HIV/AIDS has influenced today’s artists, writers, grief-mental health care providers and advocates will be considered and how the recent Whitney Museum exhibition has renewed attention to Wojnarowicz will be discussed.
