GIA Reader (2000-present)

“AIDS? Wasn’t that an art movement in the eighties?” quipped the young Chelsea gallerist, straining for just the right mix of irony and hipness. Sensing that her question missed the mark, the young woman then quickly offered, “Well, that’s a joke I often hear from artist friends when they talk about AIDS.” Her remarks betrayed a too-often-repeated distancing strategy from the reality of HIV/AIDS and the underlying complexity that the epidemic poses for artists today. On one hand, such comments hint at the wholesale incorporation of AIDS-themed art practice into the academy/marketplace.

Several years ago I attended a meeting of California Indians at the University of California at Irvine. They had come together to discuss tribal sovereignty, but the campus parking regulations quickly shanghaied the conversation. We had been issued parking permits with totally incomprehensible rules, regulations, and instructions. Only one element of clarity stood out: “Improperly parked vehicles will be impounded.” For a half hour some of the best minds in Indian country were tied up trying to figure out where to park, until L.