After Silence

Early in the 1980s AIDS epidemic, six gay activists created one of the most iconic and lasting images that would come to symbolize a movement: a protest poster of a pink triangle with the words “Silence = Death.” The graphic and the slogan still resonate today, often used—and misused—to brand the entire movement. Cofounder of the collective Silence = Death and member of the art collective Gran Fury, Avram Finkelstein tells the story of how his work and other protest artwork associated with the early years of the pandemic were created. In writing about art and AIDS activism, the formation of collectives, and the political process, Finkelstein reveals a different side of the traditional HIV/AIDS history, told twenty-five years later, and offers a creative toolbox for those who want to learn how to save lives through activism and making art.

La inceputul anilor 1980, epidemia de SIDA, sase activisti homosexuali au creat una dintre cele mai iconice si mai durabile imagini care vor ajunge sa simbolizeze o miscare: un afis de protest al unui triunghi roz cu cuvintele „Tacere = Moarte”. Grafica si sloganul rezoneaza si astazi, adesea folosite - si utilizate in mod gresit - pentru a marca intreaga miscare.