Over the years, the ICI has accumulated a small collection of ephemera related to the AIDS pandemic. Whether free postcards or newspaper ads, broadsides of guerilla semiotics or artist projects that appropriate, re-appropriate and invert cultural icons and forms, these objects are silent but poignant reminders of a pandemic that has shaped global culture for almost 30 years now.
ICI ACCESSION #: ICI 22330 TITLE: (Xeroxed) Hands DESCRIPTION: A predecessor to the ‘Instagram post,’ this instant ‘photo’ created by a xerox machine is able to capture the energy of a group of volunteers for the 1996 Day Without Art, even after a long day … Continue readingEPHEMERA KABINETT: Hands (DWA, 1996)
EK ACCESSION #: ICI 22324 TITLE: Diamanda Galas tattoo on hand – We Are All HIV+ DISCUSSION: When her brother died from AIDS in 1986, Diamanda Galas tattooed the knuckles of her left hand with ” We are all HIV+” and in so doing gave … Continue readingWe Are All HIV+
ACCESSION #: ICI 21278 TITLE: Original design for the red ribbon created for AIDS recognition, c. 1991 DISCUSSION: The original red ribbon was created in 1991 to recognize people living with HIV and AIDS along with their caretakers. It was created by the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus in … Continue readingEphemera Kabinett: Original AIDS Ribbon
ICI ACCESSION #: 22315 TITLE: Why do America’s Black Gay and Bisexual Men Have a Higher H.I.V. Rate Than Any Country in the World? by Linda Villarosa DISCUSSION: Cover story in a 2017 issue of the New York Times Sunday magazine Villarosa exposes startling statistics about … Continue readingEPHEMERA KABINETT: NYT Magazine article on AIDS in America (2017)
EK ACCESSION #: ICI 21263 TITLE: Northstar Comes Out (character from Alpha Flight by Marvel Comics) DISCUSSION: In the March 1992 issue of Alpha Flight, Northstar comes out after his adopted daughter dies of AIDS. ICI COLLECTIONS: AIDS, Firsts
ICI ACCESSION #: ICI 21317 TITLE: AIDS Trading Cards ACQUIRED/DONOR: 1993/James Weschler DISCUSSION: The AIDS trading cards were produced by Eclipse Enterprise, distributor of collectible comics, graphic novels, and trading cards. The set includes cards dedicated to famous people who have died of AIDS along … Continue readingEPHEMERA KABINETT: AIDS Trading Cards
ICI ACCESSION #: ICI 22110 TITLE: Treat a Complete Stranger as a lover… ACQUIRED/DONOR: 1993/VisualAIDS DISCUSSION: A Broadside created by John Giorno for Visual AIDS to commemorate the Day Without Art in 1993. ICI COLLECTIONS: AIDS; What I desire/I’m (not)sorry
ICI ACCESSION #: ICI 22329 TITLE: Obituary for Ricardia Palmer-Michel, died at age 5 of AIDS DISCUSSION: This is a bio collected for the 1995 AIDS Bottle Project. Collected before there were any good archives on the internet, these bios were often hidden in the … Continue readingEPHEMERA KABINETT: Bio from the AIDS Bottle Project
EK ACCESSION#: ICI 21521 TITLE: Condom Comebacks DISCUSSION: AIDS education has taken many forms including this volvelle that offers “comebacks” for sex partners who refused to wear condoms. COLLECTIONS AT THE ICI: AIDS, Volvelles
EK ACCESSION #: ICI 21220 TITLE: The AIDS Gang ICI COLLECTIONS: AIDS