final gran fury

Patrick Michael Baird The Artist as Social Critic December 15, 2003

Gran Fury: Utilizing the Power of Art to Exploit

the Limits of Popular Culture.

The White House, the Capitol building, and the Supreme Court are not the only venues for political activity. Cultural production also occurs on socially and politically inflected terrain. All art is political, but some announces its orientation or position more overtly. Inevitably every artwork advocates something, whether a political position or a type of descriptive system – even art that presents itself as an autonomous aesthetic object advocates viewing it that way. The processes by which art is taught, made, distributed, financed, shown, and used are not neutral, but are shaped by historical, economic, and social dynamics.

Julie Ault

Patrick Michael Baird / 13

The gay and lesbian activism movement of the 1970’s unified a large

population of gay men and lesbian women to facilitate protesting repression,

police entrapment, and other forms of discrimination that have been transformed

by the AIDS epidemic. The onset of the AIDS epidemic, which devastatingly

struck the gay community in the 1980’s, called for collective action to challenge

the incorrect information being spread by the mass media and to break the

silence of the United States government.

The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) was founded in New York

City in March 1987 as a diverse, nonpartisan group of individuals united in anger

and committed to direct action to end the AIDS Crisis. The main goals of ACT-UP

are to challenge those who, by their actions or inactions, hinder the fight against

AIDS, or prevent adequate funding or leadership of AIDS research, health care,

or housing for people with AIDS. ACT-UP also works to challenge anyone who

blocks the dissemination of life-saving information

about safer sex, clean needles, and other AIDS

prevention. (ACT-UP, NYC – Mission Statement.)

The first activist artwork created by about thirty

members of ACT-UP was featured in the New

Museum of Contemporary Art. ‘Let the Record

Show…’ was a site-specific installation made for the

window of the New Museum in Soho. The installation

featured a blue neon sign that stated

‘Let the Record Show…’ Installation view from outside the New Museum for Contemporary Art, 1987.

‘Let the Record Show…’


‘SILENCE=DEATH’ below a pink neon

triangle1, an LED sign, a photomural of

the Neuremberg trials, and a series of

six cardboard cutouts representing

public figures who had aggravated the

AIDS crisis according to ACT-UP.

Beneath each cardboard silhouette was

a concrete slab that was inscribed like

a headstone with a quote relating to the

AIDS epidemic.

Gran Fury originated in 1988 as

an artist collective open to any

members of ACT-UP. When the

collective first began, it acted as ACT-

UP’s propaganda office. Gran Fury

quickly spawned into an independent

entity, separating from ACT-UP even

though Gran Fury members remained

ACT-UP members. Gran Fury’s

decision to detach from ACT-UP was in

response to their need of constantly regrouping because, while it was a part of

ACT-UP, their membership was constantly in flux. Having to regroup seemed

1 The SILENCE=DEATH Project was another group that predated Gran Fury. Gran Fury, however, created the Pink Triangle/SILENCE=DEATH emblem.

‘Let the Record Show…’ (ACT-UP, 1987)

William F. Buckley, Conservative Columnist.

‘Everyone detected with AIDS should be tattooed in the upper forearm, to protect common-needle users, and on the buttocks, to prevent the victimization of other homosexuals.’

Cory Servass, Presidential AIDS Commission.

‘It is patriotic to have the AIDS test and be negative.’

Anonymous Surgeon ‘We used to hate faggots on an emotional basis. Now we have a good reason.’

Jesse Helms, U.S. Senator.

‘The logical outcome of testing is a quarantine of those infected.’

Jerry Falwell, Televangelist.

‘AIDS is God’s judgment of a society that does not live by his rules.’

Ronald Reagan, U.S. President.

(Intentionally left blank to show his silence and inaction during a time of crisis.)

Installation detail, ‘Let the Record Show…’, 1987.


counterproductive to the goals of the collective. Gran

Fury’s name was both a reference to the automobile of

choice used by the New York City Police Department, as

well as a description of the collective’s anger, frustration,

and rage. The primary members of Gran Fury were

Richard Elovich, Avram Finkelstein, Tom Kalin, John

Lindell, Loring McAlpin, Marlene McCarty, Donald Moffett, Michael Nesline, Terry

Riley, Mark Simpson, and Robert Vasquez.

Gran Fury’s initial interests were in graphically presenting information and

statistics from the Nation Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and New York’s

Department of Health as well as critiquing the United States Government for their

‘mismanagement of the AIDS crisis2’. Gran Fury’s approach to combining

imagery and text was a response to the extremely limited imagery found in

newspapers, magazines, and on television. The media often offered only images

of emaciated AIDS ‘victims’ or ‘disease carriers’ and often through rhetoric

2 As stated in the ACT-UP Capsule History 1987, http://www.actupny.org/documents/cron-87.html.

Regarding the ‘Let The Record Show…’ exhibition at the New Museum, activist and New Museum curator, William Olander published a response to those who wondered ‘But is it art?’ – he wrote: 'Not all works of art are as ‘disinterested’ as others, and some of the greatest have been created in the midst, or as a result, of a crisis. Many of us believe we are in the midst of a crisis today. Let the record show that there are many in the community of art and artists who chose not to be silent in the 1980s.’

Gran Fury, 1988.


framed these people as ‘innocent’ or ‘guilty.’ Hemophiliacs and children were

often framed as ‘innocent’, while gay men and IV drug users were ‘guilty.’

The first AIDS related imagery to be found in galleries and museums were

often similar to media related portrayals. Photography has historically been

considered an effective means to confront media imagery and show ‘alternative

realities’ lacking within mainstream media. Many artists of the 1980’s failed to

adequately challenge and confront the criminalizing imagery found in mainstream

media. The difficulty in challenging mainstream imagery of PWA’s3 originates in

the difficultly of trying to portray a syndrome lacking visual characteristics. (What

does AIDS look like?) Early photographers and artists produced mostly portraits

of PWA’s in the decline of their health and images of PWA’s living with the HIV

disease. In the words of Gran Fury member Marlene McCarty, ‘There was no

way we were going to make victim photography’ or extend ‘the dominant

representation of AIDS as pathetic images of people dying in hospital beds.’

(Meyer, p56.)

Gran Fury’s aesthetic was an adaptation to popular culture and the

advertising industry. Gran Fury utilized the advertising venue as a space to

initially confuse the viewer into thinking that what they were looking at was

actually an advertisement, despite the fact that they were actually attempting to

increase awareness of the AIDS crisis. ‘Kissing Doesn’t Kill’ was one of Gran

Fury’s early billboard works, and emulates the style used in many United Colors

of Benetton ads.

3 People with AIDS.


‘Kissing Doesn’t Kill’ was Gran Fury’s entrance into the art world, and

marks a milestone in the blurring of boundaries between the art eco-system and

activism. ‘Kissing Doesn’t Kill’ was created for Art Against AIDS On the Road,

which was a public art projected organized as a benefit for the American

Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in 1989 and was selected to be

displayed in advertising space on public transportation in San Francisco,

Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, and Robert

Mapplethorpe were among some of the high-profile artists also selected to

participate in Art Against AIDS On the Road. (Meyer, p56.)

Gran Fury had great difficulty in focusing its activist roots while entering

the contemporary art world. Despite amfAR’s progressive agenda, Gran Fury

was forced to censor themselves in order to participate in Art Against AIDS on

the Road, they were forced to remove a portion of the text that read: ‘Corporate

Greed, Government Inaction, and Public Indifference Make AIDS a Political

Crisis.’

Gran Fury’s self-censorship was still not enough for the Illinois State

Senate, which passed a bill in 1990 outlawing the public display of ‘any poster

showing or simulating physical contact or embrace within a homosexual or

lesbian context where persons under 21 can view it.’ This bill was later defeated

The uncensored ‘Kissing Doesn’t Kill’, 1989.


in the House of Representatives. In August 1990, ‘Kissing Doesn’t Kill’ made its

appearance on Chicago buses and subway platforms, but within twenty-four

hours of their installation, vandals defaced nearly all the panels. Both local and

national press failed to report on the defacing of these public transportation

panels. (Meyer, p59.)

Despite going against the foundations of Gran Fury’s existence, censoring

‘Kissing Doesn’t Kill’ still allowed the collective to utilize the contemporary art

world as a venue for spreading their message and as a source of funding.

‘Kissing Doesn’t Kill’ played a crucial role in Gran Fury’s invitation to participate in

the Venice Biennale.

Choosing to participate in the Venice Biennale was a difficult decision for

Gran Fury to make. Gran Fury was dedicated to getting their message out in the

public sphere and on the street rather than in interior art spaces. Gran Fury

recognized that most people involved in the contemporary art world were aware

of the AIDS crisis because of the pervasive nature of AIDS among the lives of

many artists.

The Venice Biennale, however, would allow for the collective to critique

the Catholic Church on their home territory. Gran Fury’s contribution to the

Venice Biennale was the juxtaposing of two billboards entitled ‘The Pope and the

Penis’ (also referred to as ‘The Pope Piece’). One billboard size print, organized

as a triptych (referencing the traditional Roman Catholic altarpiece format)

featured a picture of the pope with text declaring:


‘The Catholic Church has long taught men and women to loathe their bodies and to fear their

sexual natures. This particular vision of good and evil continues to bring suffering and even death

By holding medicine hostage to Catholic morality and withholding information which allows people

to protect themselves and each other from acquiring the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the

Church seeks to punish all who do not share its peculiar vision of human experience and makes

clear its preference for living saints and dead sinners. It is immoral to practice bad medicine. It is

bad medicine to deny people information that can help end the AIDS crisis. Condoms and clean

needles save lives as surely as the earth revolves around the sun. AIDS is caused by a virus and

a virus has no morals.’

The second billboard size print featured a picture of a penis along with the text:

‘Sexism rears its unprotected head. Men use condoms or beat it. AIDS kills women.’

When the director of the Biennale first saw Gran Fury’s billboards, he

declared that their contribution was not a work of art and vowed to resign if it

were exhibited. Italian officials at the Venice airport refused to release the

billboards from customs. Gran Fury, infuriated by the confiscation of their

Biennale contribution, held a press conference in their exhibition stall. The press

found text painted on the walls where ‘The Pope and The Penis’ should have

been hung. The text read:

‘Two billboards by Gran Fury are being held in Italian Customs. One billboard, with a picture of

the Pope, criticizes the Catholic Church’s position on condoms and AIDS education. The other

billboard, with a picture of an erect penis, mandates that men use condoms to prevent the spread

of the AIDS virus. The director of the Biennale, Giovanni Carandente, has threatened to resign if

the billboards are exhibited. The Biennale officials refuse to intervene to secure the work.’

Gran Fury’s contribution was quickly labeled the ‘Scandalo alla Biennale’.

Gran Fury exploited the threat of censorship in the case of the Biennale as a

strategy in its activism tactics. The controversy was well acknowledged by the


press and negative publicity was created in regards to the international art

festival. Donald Moffett stated, ‘the strongest thing was not the object [the

billboard] itself, but the discussion the object generated… it allowed us to break

outside the cloistered territory of the Biennale.’ (Meyer, p77.)

The Venice Biennale was a pivotal moment in making or breaking the

collectives acceptance into

the international

contemporary art world.

Gran Fury’s activist tactics

and strategies exemplified

their commitment to their

artwork, which reinforced

their acceptance into the art

community and allowed for the funding of many future projects. Most importantly,

the Biennale caused quite the disruption in the international art eco-system, and

opened many discussions regarding AIDS and censorship in the arts.

The dissolution of Gran Fury was a slow and frustrating process for many

of its members. According to member Michael Nesline, ACT-UP had three

primary goals, to publicize the AIDS crisis, to get drugs into bodies, and to end

the AIDS crisis. According to Nesline, Gran Fury and ACT-UP ‘accomplished two

of the three, the third still remains to be achieved.’ The common reason among

Gran Fury members for its dissolution were changes in personal politics and as

John Lindell stated in an Artforum (April 2003) interview with Douglas Crimp, ‘We

‘Welcome to America’, 1990.


stopped because there were questions that we wanted to address that we

couldn’t find a means to address. Toward the end we talked about doing

something about the fact that after nearly ten years of AIDS awareness the

infection rates for gay men were still going up. We found that our way of working

was inadequate to the situation, and we couldn’t change our way of working.’


The activist artwork created by Gran Fury has undeniably influenced

future artists, politics, and most importantly increased awareness of the AIDS

epidemic. Sadly enough in the Artforum interview, Donald Moffett’s realization

that (in 2003) the ‘rhetorical neglect coming out of the White House is very similar

to where we were fifteen years ago’ and Douglas Crimp’s example that ‘ADAP

[AIDS Drug Assistant Program] funding is being cut all over the country. And

when was the last time any of you saw prevention information in, say, a gay bar?’

only reinforces the need for artists to continue increasing awareness of the AIDS

epidemic and to continue to educate the masses.

Good Luck… Miss You, Gran Fury, 1995. Gran Fury’s last collective work.


Works Cited

Atkins, Robert. How to Make Art in an Epidemic.

http://www.artnet.com/magazine/features/atkins/atkins2-11-00.asp. Retrieved

December 2003.

Atkins, Robert. AIDS: Making Art & Raising Hell. http://www.queer-

arts.org:80/archive/show4/forum/atkins/atkins.html. Retrieved December 2003.

Atkins, Robert. Off the Wall: AIDS and Public Art.

http://www.artistswithaids.org/artery/centerpieces/centerpieces_offwall.html.

Retrieved December 2003.

Ault, Julie. Cultural Activism.

http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/concept_Cultural_Activism.html.

Retrieved December 2003.

Critical Art Ensemble. Collective Cultural Action: The Critical Art

Ensemble. Variant. Volume 2, Number 15. Summer 2002.

Krach, Aaron. Far Enough Away. Media Watch. July 2003.

Knight, Christopher. Fury + Political Attack = Graphic AIDS Message. The

Los Angeles Times. March 6, 1991.

Snow, Shauna. NY Artists’ Collective Vents Its Rage in L.A. Art: Gran Fury

Plasters bus shelters with AIDS posters. The Los Angeles Times. March 6, 1991.

Gran Fury. Good Luck… Miss You – Gran Fury.

http://www.actupny.org/indexfolder/GranFury1.html. Retrieved December 2003.

Kaczorowski, Craig. AIDS Activism in the Arts.

http://www.glbtq.com/arts/aids_activism_art.html. Retrieved December 2003.


Crimp, Douglas. Gran Fury Talks to Douglas Crimp. Artforum. April 2003.

Kastor, Elizabeth. Fear and Fury; AIDS in the Arts; The Content; Political

Paints, Plays that Plead. The Washington Post. May 20, 1990.

Felshin, Nina. But is it Art? The Spirit of Art as Activism. Seattle: Bay

Press, 1995.

Meyer, Richard. Outlaw Representation. Censorship and Homosexuality in

Twentieth-Century American Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Perchuk, Andrew and Helaine Posner. The Masculine Masquerade.

Masculinity and Representation. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1995.

final gran fury

Design

power of art

political position

political activity

artwork advocates

capitol building

type of descriptive

supreme court

social dynamics