Plain language summary: Love & Fury
This is what you see in this exhibition:
Poster House is showing posters about a serious virus called AIDS. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
The exhibition is called Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS.
The posters show how New Yorkers felt about AIDS and how they tried to help each other.
The exhibition has more than 50 posters made from the 1970s through the 1990s.
AIDS was a health emergency when it came to the United States in the 1970s. People were very frightened by AIDS. They did not know how to treat it and many people died.
At first, the government and hospitals in New York did not help sick people. This is because many of the sick people were part of communities that faced stigma. Stigma is a harmful negative belief against a group of people. It can target people because of things like their culture, sexual orientation, or mental health.
This exhibition shows how artists and designers used posters to help the community. Volunteers and activists started a grassroots movement. A grassroots movement involves a group of people who work together to make local improvements, sometimes because the state won’t help them.
An activist is a person who argues for a change in society or government. Activists demanded help and political action. Sometimes they had protests with signs and posters. A protest is a public gathering of people who express their opinions about what kind of change is needed.
Many New Yorkers answered phone calls and questions about AIDS. They offered support and shared medical information about how to stay safe. They encouraged each other to enjoy life and love even though they were scared. In the 1980s, groups like the New York City Department of Health started making more posters that told people how to stay protected from AIDS. The posters were displayed in subway stations, health clinics, and community centers.
Today we know a lot more about AIDS. There is better medicine and more help for people who get sick. The posters are an important record of a sad but powerful time in New York history.
The exhibition has important works, including:
- Safe Sex!, Keith Haring, 1987
- SILENCE=DEATH, Silence=Death Project, 1987
- Angels in America, Milton Glaser, 1993
- United Colors Of Benetton, Oliviero Toscani, 1994
Poster House is the first and only poster museum in the United States.