Aids Quilt
At the beginning of the outbreak of AIDS, some funeral arrangers and cemetery owners were refusing to bury the remains of victims to the disease. This situation inspired Cleve Jones to think of a way for friends and relatives to honor and remember their loved ones. The result was the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, which Mr. Jones and his helpers started in 1987 in San Francisco. This AIDS Quilt was a comfort to a lot of people, having finally found a way of celebrating their loved one’s lives.
The NAMES Project Foundation is responsible for the upkeep and display of, what is now, a huge AIDS Quilt. It has become an international symbol for all those affected by the disease and it sends out a very powerful message. There is currently over 44,000 individual panels in the quilt and the entire quilt was last shown in public at The Mall in Washington DC in 1996. Each panel measures 3 foot by 6 foot and is the size of a normal grave. These are passed over to the Project Foundation and are pieced together with other panels to make blocks of 12 foot by 12 foot. It is these blocks that are exhibited locally and usually contain 8 panels.
The individual pieces are personalized by loved ones and they all form the colorful patchwork that is transformed into the whole AIDS Quilt. There are different techniques used in the panels, such as embroidery, appliqu?, collage and needlepoint. Colors are made vibrant with spray painting and fabric paint. Materials are varied and include traditional fabrics such as lace, taffeta, leather, suede and mink along with metal and plastic. Makers of the panels have great freedom and add sequins, feathers, pearls and rhinestones. Personal items, such as photographs, samples of clothing, wedding rings and even cremation ashes can be attached. A partial display was organized in June 2004 to publicize National HIV-Testing Day, when 1,000 of the most recent blocks were shown at the Ellipse in Washington DC.
The quilt has grown into a unique arts project, on a bigger scale than anything else in the world. Understanding of AIDS has come a long way from the 1980s and Cleve Jones largely contributed to more enlightenment by creating the AIDS Quilt. It represents the experiences of thousands of people and tells a very personal story in a way that mere statistics never can. Mr. Jones is himself, HIV positive, and he made the first panel of the AIDS Quilt to commemorate his best friend who had died form the disease.
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