On this 28th annual World AIDS Day, it is appropriate for us to take a moment and remember the talented individuals in fashion who lost their lives to the virus.
Among the departed are Patrick Kelly, Willi Smith, Chester Weinberg, Halston, Perry Ellis, Isaia Rankin, Angel Estrada, Antonio Lopez, Juan Ramos, Tina Chow, Herb Ritts, Bill King, Franco Moschino, and Gia Carangi. And, of course, there were also those who made their impact on fashion quietly behind-the-scenes. In the 1980s, early in the crisis, it seemed as if companies on Seventh Avenue were losing employees on a near-daily basis.
“Until now, over 35 years into the fight against AIDS, there was no highly visible public memorial recognizing those we lost and the extraordinarily heroic effort of caregivers and activists who helped change the trajectory of the epidemic,” said Paul Kelterborn, who founded a grass-roots advocacy effort with fellow urban planner Christopher Tepper in early 2011 to create a memorial in New York.
Nearly six years later, the New York City AIDS Memorial is being dedicated today. It was designed by Studio ai and features a floor made of granite by visual artist Jenny Holzer and engraved with excerpts from Walt Whitman’s poem Song of Myself. The 18-foot steel canopy and park are located at West 12th Street and Greenwich Avenue. The location is significant as it is adjacent to the former St. Vincent’s Hospital, which was the city’s first and largest AIDS ward.
“Even though New York City alone lost more than 100,000 men, women and children to AIDS and the global activist response to the epidemic started here, the history of the disease in New York City is all but invisible — the loss and devastation, the government indifference, the community’s unprecedented response,” Kelterborn said. “This memorial is intended both to honor and acknowledge the past and, as the AIDS crisis is far from over, energize and inspire current and future generations of activists, caregivers and people living with HIV.”
Kelterborn hopes the triangular space will serve as a destination for people to gather, reflect, and learn. “[It will] serve as a reminder to us all about the tremendous heroism of the caregivers and activists; a solemn place of respite for people to remember lost loved ones; and a starting point of learning for younger generations who may not know much about the AIDS crisis,” he said.
Holzer cited elements from the Whitman poem she used for the piece as her wish for the memorial’s message:
If you want me again look for me…
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
