Blog - Artists With AIDS

How HIV and AIDS Awareness is Being Raised and What We Know About Them

Cheyenne November 26, 2021June 24, 2021

HIV Awareness Days are designated each year by The American HIV Prevention Program as a way to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS. They give people a chance to inform themselves about the latest HIV information, development, and treatments. They also provide a platform for HIV educators and community leaders to address the issues of HIV and AIDS. There are several HIV Awareness Days scheduled yearly.

National HIV Education Program (NHER)

The National HIV Education Program, also known as the NHER, is a not-for-profit organization that has been providing HIV education and prevention materials to communities in the United States since 1993. HIV is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. This virus can affect people of all ages, but it is most commonly found in people who are engaged in high-risk behaviors.

AIDS Organization

One of the largest HIV/AIDS organizations in America, the AIDS organization (AIDS Inc.), recently announced a series of national advertisements regarding condom use. The ads focus on the message, “Condoms can save your life.”

They also include information about new research highlighting the increasing number of young adults ages 18 to 24 with HIV/AIDS. The campaign is being funded in part by the pharmaceutical company Merck. The company is currently conducting a study to determine the effect of the new ads on reducing new HIV diagnoses in the U.S.

Throughout the summer, there will be numerous public events, as well as digital and print advertisements, focusing on HIV awareness, HIV testing and HIV prevention. In addition to holding public events, many communities are creating HIV clubs or coordinating a neighborhood effort.

In June, representatives from local schools and churches are planning a neighborhood HIV prevention event. Events include a community cookout and a silent auction to raise money for HIV prevention and treatment programs.

A growing awareness of the need to get tested and implement programs that provide consistent HIV education has resulted in an increase in HIV testing among teens and young adults. Though data on the prevalence of HIV among this age group is not fully available, it is clear that HIV is a major concern.

HIV Logistic Regression Model

An HIV logistic regression model was developed to examine the relationship between HIV prevalence and several key factors related to sexual and reproductive behaviors. The logistic regression model examines the effect of a variety of potential HIV risk factors.

After conducting a series of interviews, a statistically significant difference in the perceived frequency of exposure was identified among adults living in various settings. For example, those living in high-risk areas of the nation were more likely to perceive a high frequency of unprotected sexual activity at least once in the previous six months.

While this data was very intriguing, there were some limitations to the study. For example, the participants were not asked about their past use of PSA testing or other screening tools to identify HIV or to determine their riskiness of contracting the disease.

As a result, the researchers could not identify any statistically significant association between HIV and genital herpes. Nevertheless, this finding highlights the importance of raising the awareness of sexually transmitted diseases to all Americans.

JAMA – Research Study

Another research study published in JAMA found a notable gender difference in the relationship between new HIV diagnoses and increased genital herpes prevalence. Men had a significantly higher prevalence of new HIV diagnoses compared to women. This pattern was consistent across several places in the country.

Other studies have suggested that there may be a gender difference in both HIV prevalence and genital herpes incidence, but they have been unable to verify whether this is simply due to variation in reporting practices among different populations or if there truly is a trend for men to be more at risk than women.

A Brief Overview of HIV and AIDS

Cheyenne October 25, 2021April 18, 2022

This article is a brief overview of HIV and AIDS to people who are uninformed on this subject. We will not discuss the symptoms, prevention methods or tell you exactly how to avoid getting infected with HIV or AIDS. That said, we will go over some background information that should be known before diving into this extremely important topic.

Remedies

In the 1970s, there were no medications to treat people with HIV or AIDS. As a result, people infected with the virus had no hope of recovery from their diseases. With the onset of medical science, researchers have discovered some remedies for HIV and AIDS. But, unfortunately, they have not found a cure for all forms of the virus, which means the virus can’t be eliminated in a patient.

Although there is currently no cure for this virus, certain medications and therapies are available to treat the symptoms associated with the disease. In addition, by living a healthy lifestyle, you can help lower your risks.

How it Spreads

We know that HIV does not develop in a way that makes it contagious. You are not passing the virus on to another person through casual contact. You do need to be aware of your sexual activity, though, as it can pass on to others. Most sexually active people must make sure they do not have any sexual relations with someone who has HIV or AIDS.

HIV can be spread to different people through anal, vaginal, and oral sex. The virus may also be spread when you share utensils, towels, drinking cups, and other items with other people. It can also be passed on through a blood transfusion or childbirth. However, not everyone who shares these items gets the virus. Therefore, the only way to know whether you have contracted the virus for sure is by having a test.

The virus is usually contracted when one or the other person has one or the other type of open sore or broken skin. This break or sore can be very small or large. The area may also be itchy. In rare cases, the infection can be transmitted from one part of the infected person’s body to another person through direct contact. Some types of skin infections can also cause the same symptoms as HIV.

Antiretroviral Drugs

In the last couple of years, a few new medications have been developed to help with the symptoms associated with the HIV/AIDS infection. There are also a few anti-HIV drugs that the FDA has approved.

These drugs are called antiretroviral drugs. They work to suppress the virus and help lessen a person’s chances of passing it onto another person. Unfortunately, people who take these drugs often have to take them for the rest of their lives.

HIV Test

An HIV test is the best way to check to see if you have HIV. If you have been tested and found to be HIV positive, then you should begin treatment immediately. Many people believe that having HIV is not that serious. They think that they will not pass the infection on to a partner. Unfortunately, this is not true. HIV can lead to AIDs, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, a more serious form of the disease.

Are You Worried You Have HIV?

If you are worried that you might be HIV positive, you should talk to your doctor and express your concerns. An HIV test will tell your doctor whether or not you have the infection. Your doctor may also recommend that you undergo treatment at a local health care center called an AIDS treatment center.

People often don’t realize that a blood test does not always tell the truth. It can sometimes show false results. This is because the HIV test measures the antibodies in your blood – not the virus. Therefore, it can be easy for the virus to replicate after being exposed to a needle.

If you have been tested and find out that you do have HIV, then you should start treatment right away. The earlier you start, the better. There are many options for HIV treatment, and there are many people who want to live a normal life, so don’t lose hope.

3 Iconic AIDS Activist Artworks that Changed the Trajectory of the Epidemic

Cheyenne September 12, 2021June 24, 2021

Art has the potential to change the way we see the world. The evolution of humanity has often been questioned by scientists and religious experts. A balance is what the planet requires to remain as relevant and peaceful as the population needs to be. Humans, unlike every other living being, have a higher level of intelligence but can also become a savage animal than the ones out in the jungle. A fine line runs between the cognitive skills that distinguish animals and humans. But the one thing that surely plagues these intelligent souls is the fear of being attacked by foreign forces. The xenophobia in people has only risen exponentially over the decades, and the eighties and nineties are a testament to this attitude of humans.

While the realms of science and medicine were researching the impact of the HIV epidemic on the lives of humans, the social circles broke apart to ostracize the persons who were affected by the virus. Art came into play at the cusp of this crucial phase in the lives of millions. The AIDS crises galvanized the artists to channel their emotions onto a canvas of undying significance. Here are some of the most iconic AIDS activist artworks that were seminal in the transition of the epidemic trajectory.

1. General Idea, AIDS, 1987

The history we are diving into is not just about a fight for public health for the right of the people. An article related to AIDS was published in the New York Times in July of 1981, covering several details of a new disease that was projected as a “rapidly fatal form of cancer,” especially affecting the gay community in the City. Sexuality and the epidemic were assigned a bizarre correlation during this period, and it was only the activism that could start a wave of change in this particular scenario. Most early AIDS patients suffered from bigotry, which is not an unfamiliar concept these days, too. As artists crashed into the scene, the perception of people witnessed a sudden transition. However, people went onto discriminate against those with HIV. This artwork communicates a lot for the gay community.

2. The Silence=Death Project, 1986

This was an era that seeped in homophobia, and the battle between pride and prejudice had just begun. But before any of this revolution could bring about drastic changes, the AIDS crisis had made the battle more about life versus death. Dr. Joseph Sonnabend was a part of this activism, and he is considered a pioneer in the attempts to establish an anti-discrimination state with AIDS. The goal of raising awareness and pressurizing the government was also achieved, and this artwork most surely helped.

3. Please Hug Me, 1987

All individuals, regardless of their sexuality, are susceptible to AIDS. This was made clear through activism in the 1980s. Gerald Jampolsky’s I Have AIDS, Please Hug Me is an art that blended in with the culture to fight all stigmas related to the epidemic.

How a New Generation of Artists Tackles the Realities of HIV/AIDS

Cheyenne August 18, 2021June 24, 2021

Activism drives more attention to the most relevant and hot topics in society these days. Unless there are people to call out the injustice and political incorrectness ingrained as fundamental concepts of living in the minds of humans, the activities that discriminate against a certain group of people are likely to keep growing in intensity. It is important that we fight for our rights so that humanity is saved from the plaguing effects and thoughts of a culture we never wanted to be a part of. Several campaigns have drawn a line of oppression against the people with HIV, which is a deadly but incommunicable disease.

As the decades passed by, the number of people fighting for this cause has also increased significantly. The protest has grown from Keith Haring’s artworks to some of the most impactful strategies that play well for the execution of better world order. In the eighties, when ideas were still sprouting out of infancy, an iconic piece of art conquered the hearts of millions, and it has been a constant symbol of courage for the people with HIV/AIDs- the SILENCE = DEATH logo. As it became one of the many emblematic artist responses, the attempts by other artists to enhance activism were also on the rise. The current generation is also trying to tackle the realities of HIV/AIDS with art.

Grandmother Willow, 2014

LaBeija was one of the four artists out of the hundred featured at the Tacoma Art Museum’s Art AIDS America in 2015. The exhibition explored the whole spectrum of artistic responses to AIDS, but the lack of racial diversity of the show did raise a few eyebrows. Even the African Americans were affected by HIV/AIDS, but the show failed to display their collective emotion. As a response to this, the activist group Tacoma Action Collective staged a series of protests to draw the attention of the people to the correct representation of the Black people by readjusting the roster of artists for exhibitions at various venues.

SPIT! Frieze Projects 2017

The spontaneous collective SPIT! was explored for its full range of the spectrum covered by the diseased bodies. Through this movement, the artists aimed to bring the plagued minds to the big picture in order to fight the common mindset of discrimination. Many of the historical and contemporary texts were accompanied by a brilliant selection of modern art masterpieces. All these were displayed to highlight the defining debates in queer politics. Everything from the ethics of HIV prevention to the anxiety of death is covered in the PrEP Manifesto that featured in the exhibition.

Forever Young, BETHESDA, 2014

International dialogue is mixed with poetry to communicate volumes about the struggles of the people with HIV/AIDS. Jonathan Molina-Garcia, a Salvadoran-American multimedia artist, spent two years documenting all his romantic relationships to find out previous sexual activities with any HIV-positive men. His craft was exposed on the website during the multimedia project BETHESDA. These works of art evoke a process of change and queer histories.

Art, Activism and HIV: Triggering Emotions, Imagination, and Action

Cheyenne July 24, 2021June 24, 2021

Millions of lives were risked on the planet when several pandemics hit the economy and the huge social settings. AIDS is one such epidemic that has afflicted many people and plagued the minds of others. As the effect of the virus kept growing over the years, the world of science began researching more about the cure for the epidemic. The startling images beamed onto the screen, depicting the deep concepts of the activist remarks created by David Kirby by listing down the complications involved in AIDS. During his attempts to normalize the disease and the impact of the virus on the patients so as to not marginalize them, his agonizing family surrounded him. Photo’s composition references dying Christ to depict the professor’s ideologies about the correlation between sexuality and epidemic.

As the art seeps more into the epidemic’s widespread effects, we get to learn about the discriminatory grounds. The campaign in the discussion also has audacious Christ metaphors, which were conveniently overlooked by several spectators. It was designed to expose the callous indifference of society towards HIV/AIDS. While all of this still requires more clarity, such discussions only received backlash among the activists. Such approaches were considered a major reason for the sufferers to feel more fear. Misinformation could fester in the form of discrimination and stigma in numerous fields.

The Emotions, Action, and Imagination Behind the Art

The blustery gay life was revealed by the later biographies of Bacon, shedding more light on the disturbed existence of the person. Such thoughts led him to push his fetishist partner, resulting in the thrashing of that person, causing more trouble than any of them had intended. Every resultant event here comes with memories that could mentally affect both of them.

Normal social structures are set by people following certain cultures, while the ones who don’t fit in these stereotypes try to break such barriers to transcend the bizarre expectations of the world. According to the art writer Michael Valinsky, David Hockney is another person who snubbed such social structures to prove his worth in society. Several allusions to his own homosexuality were incorporated in his paintings to celebrate the gay lifestyle.

Numerous western artists kept capturing gay life before the AIDS epidemic, meshing their artwork with activism to write a history worth mentioning in future campaigns and protests. These have even played crucial roles in the current scene of AIDS revolutionary movements, which were most potently reflect in the angst of the mid-1980s. However, the power of art grew beyond the lecture halls, especially when it concerns homosexuality and HIV activism. Artists like Attila Lukaks have contributed large-scale paintings to provide the visitors with a transformative experience. Sexual aggression was fused with social deviance to explore a deeper level of the concepts that were confined to the textbooks. Several other pieces have also gone viral and captured the hearts of millions of people, including activists from different parts of the world.

Art in America : Before and After AIDS Crisis

Cheyenne June 24, 2021June 24, 2021

Artistry grows beyond the ages to make a new pathway of success for every talented individual out there. No one would have imagined a virus to impact the lives of millions of artists. Traditional and retro art forms may be a thing of the past, but AIDS definitely isn’t. It is a deadly disease that diminishes the immune system through multiple stages, even to mutilate the patients with the slightest blows. Although the disease has been put under control now, it was novel in the eighties and nineties. Back in those decades, the AIDS crisis paved the path for a generation-defining experience through art. The HIV epidemic was increasingly becoming a phenomenon that plagued not just the bodies of the patients but also the minds of the people around them.

It entered the works of many American artists, with the myriad of options and concepts turning the industry into a gory and horrifying canvas with contemporary styles. In the culture of idolization over health and youth, the epidemic became the breaking point for the stigmatization of several communities and the quick responses in the form of activism and political art. These came from artists who have first-hand experiences with the AIDS epidemic. Most of the art created during this period was responsive to the crisis, immensely changing the dominant self-reflective art practices. Let us take a closer look at how the epidemic brought art and politics on the same plane.

AIDS Art and Activism

Two significant art movements had hailed at the onset of the eighties, and they succeeded in attracting different types of spectators. An elitist abstract expressionist approach was given to a few of the works, while the others were mostly pop art promoting the consumerist culture. The artist’s personal experiences had no role in the creations of that era. Once the AIDS crisis had begun, the artists were affected in ways they had never imagined. The devastating effects of the virus were drawing the attention of the artists to paint effective strokes on the canvases of deep meaning and impact.

As the hostile attitudes toward the people were overlooked by most governments, the artists brushed up on that to shed light on the problems faced by activists of that period. This controversial theme was grazed on by art, and the challenges were being tackled by the various artists.

Keith Haring’s AIDS Oeuvre

Sexuality and HIV were given an unnecessary association that led to the personal and social destruction of several communities. Keith Haring focused on this aspect of the epidemic to learn more about its effects. The artist’s works became more oriented towards homosexuality and male sexuality. A strong connection between the fear of AIDS and homosexuality was initiated by Keith’s works to convey a message most people were ignorant of at that time. All the late works of the artists saw the rise of AIDS symbolism, with the personification of HIV as a horned sperm gathering a lot of attention.