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They
stopped the Rose Parade. They shouted down elected officials.
They negotiated the building of an AIDS Ward in a public health
system that left people with AIDS suffering in hallways due to
lack of a dedicated place for them. They were members of ACT UP.
Drkrm. Gallery proudly announces the opening of SILENCE=DEATH:
Los Angeles AIDS Activism 1987 – 2007, slated
for a June 16th opening and running through August 11. Commemorating
the 20th anniversary of ACT UP/Los Angeles, the exhibition features
the work of Chuck Stallard, who documented one of the most dramatic
and successful protest groups in recent history. The AIDS Coalition
to Unleash Power (ACT UP) became a national and world-wide movement,
with one of its most effective chapters in Los Angeles.
Market Street, San Francisco, June 1990
16x20
Silver-gelatin print. Edition of 3 with handwritten text
The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) became a national
and world-wide movement, with one of its most effective chapters
in Los Angeles. Officially formed in December 1987, ACT UP/LA's
quite effective strategy was to mix angry street activism with
hometown media-savvy. The group was known for its smart graphics
and catchy slogans (“He Kills Me” read the caption
for a poster of President Ronald Reagan, who failed to act on
or mention AIDS in the critical earliest years of the pandemic).
ACT UP worked nationally as well as locally, initiating such federal
programs as compassionate access to drugs still under FDA review,
and demanding universal healthcare as the first step to responding
to AIDS. With its core of gay male activists, ACT UP formed progressive
coalitions to press for a women’s right to choose, fair
labor practices, and a diversion of tax dollars from foreign invasions
to domestic healthcare. Silence=Death revives some of
the most dramatic moments captured by a photographer never afraid
to put his lens in the fray.
October 23, 1991 Century Plaza Hotel, Century
City, CA
16x20 Silver-gelatin print. Edition of 3 with handwritten
text
Mark Kostopoulos, FDA Action, Rockville, Maryland
October, 1988
20x24
Silver-gelatin print. Edition of 3 with handwritten text
Chuck Stallard, a member of ACT UP/LA as well
as its photographic chronicler, had access to the calm and the
storms of AIDS activism. Because the group had to fight for the
attention of mainstream media, and because many of the actions
carried out by ACT UP members were crafted to provoke authorities,
Stallard's work benefited not from distance but from proximity.
Possessing both the trust of his fellow activists and the fearlessness
to step towards charging police instead of away from them, he
managed to capture history.
Chuck Stallard: Artist Statement
and Bio
Exhibition curator Stuart Timmons writes about
Los Angeles, gay life, and his own imagination. His biography
of gay movement founder Harry Hay was a Book of the Month
Club selection, and his recent book, Gay
L.A., made the Los Angeles Times best-seller list. Timmons’
writing has appeared in several anthologies, as well as national
and local magazines. He has worked at several non-profit organizations,
including as Executive Director for ONE, the National Gay &
Lesbian Archives.
Exhibition
essay by Stuart Timmons
AIDS
Activists Reunite at Drkrm
drkrm.
gallery
is an exhibition space dedicated to fine art photography, cutting
edge and alternative photographic processes, and the display and
survey of popular cultural images. Regular gallery hours are Tues-Saturday
11am-5pm.
drkrm.
gallery :: 2121 San Fernando Road :: Suite 3
Los Angeles, CA 90065
323.223.6867 :: www.drkrm.com
:: drkrmgallery@gmail.com
All gallery events are free and open to the public.
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