Mixed-Media

[*Back at the end of 2019, a group of eight called SOMOS (or ‘SOMOS Mais’) formed in São Paulo to coordinate activities for December 1, International AIDS Day. The idea at first was that a collective might form to continue working together on our HIV-related artworks after the big holiday; however, the group didn’t stay together. A sweet event, Sarau Transante transpired on November 30th and members walked together the following day on São Paulo’s AIDS Walk. At the time I was unsure if anything had been ‘gained’ by all the effort that went into the group formation and its lone event; I reflected on our initiative in Using one ‘project’ to see another. Today, though, I can see some (new) things that I personally learned from the process. And, that’s nice! xo Todd]

[*In February and back before Covid19 suspended travel (and life as we knew it) a group of LUV peeps met in NYC to work on the ’next-LUV’ or an afterlife for Luv ’til it Hurts, a project that I originally charted for only two years. Those two years are almost up. We received some instruction/planning questions from teammate Jakub Szczęsny at that time, and again now as a new group plan takes shape. xo Todd]

“De Gris a POSITHIVO” Documental Autobiográfico de Juan De La Mar que hace parte de Luv ’til it Hurts, se encuentra seleccionado para “Media Library 2020 - Visions Du Réel, Festival Internacional de Cine de Nyon”.

“De Gris a POSITHIVO,” an Autobiographical Documentary by Juan De La Mar, who is part of Luv ’til it Hurts, has been selected for the “Media Library 2020 - Visions Du Réel, Festival Internacional de Cine de Nyon.”

Eric Rhein
Communion with Oak (self-portrait)
1998, gelatin silver print, 20”x16”

I walk with the shadows

of the men I’ve known,

and loved, and tasted,

and feel, even still,

the warmth of their breath

against my skin.

Eric Rhein   

1992

_____________________

Eric Rhein is an artist living and working in New York. He has exhibited widely in the United States and abroad, and has been reviewed in the New York Times, Huffington Post, ARTnews, Vanity Fair, and Art in America. He is included in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art’s Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project. He is a founding member of Visual AIDS Archive Project, and more of his work can be found on his Artist+ Registry page.

Image: ‘Hummingbirds’ (Installation of 6), 2016, by artist Eric Rhein

I wanted to elaborate more on the concept of ’transcendence’, mostly because I have some reservations about it. BUT, the fact that HIV is a disease that you live with took me to the place of transcendence. I departed from Eric’s work and paid especial attention to it. The aesthetics of the drawings helped to describe such transcendence in the LTIH project. (more about it later)

[*Early this year I got the chance to talk to Vinicius Couto in São Paulo about three strands of his work. The article contains images from a performance he made in São Paulo, Rio and Cairo. I was particularly interested in his idea of getting HIV+ people together, as well as what he says on ‘aesthetics’. His initial interview took place before COVID19, and I asked for clarification on his idea for getting people together a few days ago. xo Todd]

[On the occasion of Love Positive Women 2020, a project by Jessica Lynn Whitbread and partners around the world, Colombian graphic artist, Power Paola offered some new Spanish-language designs, which can be used for years to come as well. I met Power Paola through Daniel Santiago Salguero, who convened the Luciérnagas laboratory. Thanks Daniel and Power Paola!! xo Todd]

[*Five or so years ago Canadian artist Niki Singleton and I made a Facebook project called Coming Out of the Web 2.0 Closet. We both had a story whereby ‘friends’ or family members had used social media to shun us or tell us we were going to hell or something similar for being gay, and out. A couple more friends from NYC and Beirut gave us their stories to render in five-frame comic strips. I hear HIV being referred to in a variety of coded ways (like having a House In Virginia), and for sure we talk about it as a second closet to come out of … so I decided to reboot this project here in the LUV scrapbook (of things). I’m also really fond of another work we made called Host-an-Occupier along with Danish collective Wooloo and Mexican-American artist Alicia Marvan. xo Todd]

[*A longer EN language interview is available below for download; Todd Lanier Lester interviews Adriana Bertini for LUV.]

TLL: We met first in Barcelona at the 14th International AIDS Conference in 2002. I don’t remember too much about the trip, except that I was presenting a poster with a colleague on community sensitization work on HIV/AIDS we’d done together in the East Province of Cameroon as US Peace Corps volunteers. Again, a very long time ago.

[*Working together with the City of São Paulo office of Human Rights, George Ferraz prepared (styled) two downtown cultural spaces for Love Positive Women 2020 with the theme of Yemanjá and using the posters designed by Thiago. A message from the Office of Human Rights was distributed along with Valentines Day cards. The Human Rights flier encourages HIV+ women to use the city’s three citizenship centers for meetings any time of the year, and provides a QR Code to find more info easily. Both Tapera Taperá bar and esponja spaces in São Paulo hosted Love Positive Women-related info / set-ups. Thiago made the candles for an event in NYC held on February 9th. George helped with the event too, making some more cloth hearts, like the ones distributed in São Paulo and Khartoum. There were extra hearts and we mailed them to Puerto Rico with Valentines cards. Some also went to the cast of I, OF COURSE, WAS LIVID, a Love Positive Women-affiliated event at Housing Works bookstore. And, about 15 leftover candles go on to the VisualAIDS Women’s Empowerment Art Therapy Workshops. Thanks guys! xo, Todd]