Image 053 - Compassion in the Face of AIDS
“Keeping In Touch” project for the Arkansas AIDS Foundation. This portrait of compassion in the face of AIDS was taken by Andrew in the 1980’s. Andrew tells of the project and this woman’s compassion,
“I was invited to produce an exhibit as an educational tool around aids. It was during the time when people were terrified about aids and terrified about people who had AIDS and homophobic things in connection with people who had aids. I was invited to photograph people who had AID/ HIV Positive, people who had lost family members, who had lost lovers, or people who were just concerned and trying to do something to help.
There were organizations that helped with this cause. In this case the Arkansas AIDS Foundation. This one in particular was an advocacy organization that was trying to make things work better. So what we did was we had a private gathering in my studio with people who fit that criteria. Basically anyone who fit that criteria or who cared enough to be a part of it. There were a lot of people who came to it who were AIDS/HIV positive or people who had lost loved ones and we would have a conversation. We recorded those conversations and then we put together an exhibit of photographs that I had taken and excerpts from the conversations and it was used by this organization as an educational tool at malls and high schools and they would educate people that this wasn’t something they needed to be afraid of and encourage a more compassionate view.
The woman in this photograph came to that gathering and she had a relative who was dying of aids and they had this baby. There was a lot of fear at that time that people who had aids that gave birth to that the babies would also have aids. (This turned out not to be the case in the majority of the time). In an act of compassion (a sense of which can be felt when looking at this image) this woman adopted this baby after both of its parents died of AIDS.”
-Andrew Kilgore
All images are giclée printed on 17" x 22” 100% cotton rag, acid-free paper with archival inks.
Image 053 - Compassion in the Face of AIDS
“Keeping In Touch” project for the Arkansas AIDS Foundation. This portrait of compassion in the face of AIDS was taken by Andrew in the 1980’s. Andrew tells of the project and this woman’s compassion,
“I was invited to produce an exhibit as an educational tool around aids. It was during the time when people were terrified about aids and terrified about people who had AIDS and homophobic things in connection with people who had aids. I was invited to photograph people who had AID/ HIV Positive, people who had lost family members, who had lost lovers, or people who were just concerned and trying to do something to help.
There were organizations that helped with this cause. In this case the Arkansas AIDS Foundation. This one in particular was an advocacy organization that was trying to make things work better. So what we did was we had a private gathering in my studio with people who fit that criteria. Basically anyone who fit that criteria or who cared enough to be a part of it. There were a lot of people who came to it who were AIDS/HIV positive or people who had lost loved ones and we would have a conversation. We recorded those conversations and then we put together an exhibit of photographs that I had taken and excerpts from the conversations and it was used by this organization as an educational tool at malls and high schools and they would educate people that this wasn’t something they needed to be afraid of and encourage a more compassionate view.
The woman in this photograph came to that gathering and she had a relative who was dying of aids and they had this baby. There was a lot of fear at that time that people who had aids that gave birth to that the babies would also have aids. (This turned out not to be the case in the majority of the time). In an act of compassion (a sense of which can be felt when looking at this image) this woman adopted this baby after both of its parents died of AIDS.”
-Andrew Kilgore
All images are giclée printed on 17" x 22” 100% cotton rag, acid-free paper with archival inks.