HAUS OF FOOLS
HAUS OF FOOLS is a research and visual project that focuses on AIDS activism and work created through my identity as a gay man living in the twenty-first century. Artists and collectives creating work in response to the AIDS CRISIS manifested under the construct of invoking political activism, conceptualizing commercial identity, and playing with exhibition art standards. We do not remember AIDS ART within the context of high art or true exhibition work, but rather raw, demonstrative, and powerful. HAUS OF FOOLS serves as the platform and brand for an exhibition, not only as a chance to revisit allusions to prior activism but also as a retro-contemporary view of the AIDS Crisis. Censorship, Propaganda, and Conformity are conjoining techniques/themes that span through the AIDS years used to spread misinformation and promote hatred.
The video is a loose chronological timeline based on events happening during the AIDS CRISIS (1981-2019) including information and social commentary regarding government, biology, people, religion, and the individual. Audio is sampled from various talks and speeches given by influential people such as Ronald Reagan, Elizabeth Glaser, and Ryan White. Visuals are derived from 80's inspired visuals and themes with an emphasis on neon. The video follows the Fool's Journey which is an ideology rooted in HAUS OF FOOLS gay identity and coming of age perspectives. The fast and direct visuals serve as a nod to the way ACT UP created imagery that demanded to be seen and unforgivingly refused to compromise. The HAUS OF FOOLS brand is present in the video, as well as corresponding works, to highlight the negative responses of the world.
HAUS OF FOOLS was on display in Lowell, Massachusetts in the spring of 2019.
2019
Art Direction
Concepting
Design
Animaton
Copy
Installation
Gran Fury 1993
Response to Gran Fury activism poster:
“Do you resent people with AIDS?”
So many people are afraid of this word and don’t understand what it even stands for. How can you resent someone who is your mirror? How can you deny your history and still call yourself gay? Do you understand the Presidency? Do you know who Ronald Reagan is? George HW Bush? We lost a generation. We are a generation. When you look at me, can you tell me I have the virus, that I’m HIV positive, that I have AIDS? Would you believe me if I didn’t know I was positive for years, that it wasn’t my fault?
“Do you trust HIV-negatives?”
Do you believe every guy from Grindr, hell even Craigslist. How old are you? Why is the only tribe on Grindr not specific to appearance about your status? Are you clean? Do you even know if you’re clean? Have you been tested, or are you too scared? Are you ashamed? Have you ever used a condom before? If he were alive today, I wouldn’t care about any of this, or even ask. If he were alive today, this tribe would not exist. If he were alive, I wouldn’t know what these letters meant either. Now I have to beware. I have to be tactile. I have to be the change.
“Have you given up hope for a cure?”
Be the change. We don’t have a cure, but we can be the cure. Are you on Prep? Do you know what PREP is? Has this epidemic become such a normality that we can’t keep fighting? Will you fight with me? Will you cry for me? Will you cry for those we have lost?
“When was the last time you cried?”
Do you cry? Because I don’t know if I cry too much or not enough. What have you lost?