Art often becomes a creative conduit for raising awareness about important social and political issues. To reflect on the tremendous role that art can play in exploring and drawing attention to AIDS issues, a screening of Annette Mangaard’s new documentary General Idea: Art, AIDS, and the fin de siècle will be used to instigate a conversation involving three prominent artists. Musician Diamanda Galas, painter Attila Richard Lukacs and media artist Paul Wong will discuss creative responses to the AIDS epidemic and explore the potential of effecting change through focused, subtle and/or optimistic cultural interventions.
In 1969, three young Canadian artists came together to form a collective called General Idea. When the 1980s brought the first identified cases of AIDS, General Idea responded by making art that addressed the plague virus. In an unforgettable coup, they appropriated the well-known “LOVE” painting by Robert Indiana and replaced its four letters with AIDS, creating the now world-famous logo. General Idea toured Europe and North America with massive installation pieces that chronicled the devastating spread of the disease and its impact on their community. AA Bronson, the sole surviving member of General Idea, narrates General Idea: Art, AIDS, and the fin de siècle, lending personal relevancy to a poignant story of art and sexual politics. It is a tale of love, fame, overwhelming loss and, ultimately, renewal. |