AIDS: A Social Virus

Two men are drawn kissing over the text of a medical report.  The report describes the toll AIDS takes on the patient and that the patient’s health is compromised.  As a person who is interested in medicine, I am interested in the report, as it sheds light on the understanding of AIDS in the 1960s.  This piece of artwork called to me in a different way, as well.  The artist, who is most likely the patient, took a report that brought so much pain and overlapped it with an image that brought them happiness.  This piece is a mixture of opposing emotions.  Perhaps, this is the way the artist coped with the emotions that come with such a grave prognosis.  The drawing depicts two men in a romantic embrace, something taboo in the 1960s.  The artist is letting go of fears and embracing what was not accepted by society.

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