Skip to main content

Social Justice and The Quilt

The dictionary defines social justice as "justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society."  The dictionary's definition would be an idyllic world. It would be incredible if women made the same amount money as men, it would be amazing if black people had the same privileges as white people, and it would be wonderful if the LGBT community had the same opportunities in public society as hetrosexual and cisgender people. However, social justice means something different to different people. There's discourse all around the world about what should be corrected in society and what should be left alone, and artists can express their versions of justice through their art. One of those artists that I will focus on today is The NAMES Project.

The NAMES Project is dedicated to showcasing the effects AIDS and HIV can have on the family of those who are HIV positive or who have lost members to the disease. They created The Quilt: a collaborative and ongoing project that memorializes those who have died from HIV and AIDS through quilted panels. These panels have the names of those who died and some symbolic imagery to represent them. According to its website, its goals are to "provide a creative means for remembrance and healing, effectively illustrate the enormity of the AIDS epidemic, increase the general public’s awareness of HIV and AIDS, assist others with HIV infection-prevention education, and raise funds for community-based AIDS service organizations." Since its founding in 1987, over 14 million people have visited The Quilt, and it has raised over $3 million in AIDS service organizations throughout North America. Even though it is far too large to display anymore, The Quilt is an amazing art piece that helps millions of people get through some of the hardest things to deal with.

Image result for the quilt aids




Related image






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Giotto

Giotto di Bondone was born in the year of 1276 in Vespignano, near Florence, Italy. He is known as the as the most important Italian painter of the 14th century. His work plays a part to the famous Renaissance developed a century later. For almost seven centuries, Giotto has been known as the father of European painting and one of the first of the great masters of art. Unfortunately, Giotto died on January 8, 1337. However, he lived a full artistic life: he painted frescoes in the Upper Church at Assisi, in the Lower Church of the Basilica of St. Francis, and across Italy's historic churches. He primarily worked with frescoes and the theme of his art is focused on events from the bible. His art style is has very dark and earthy tones and he doesn't shy away from using intense imagery like blood and death. Above is The Lamentation by Giotto and can be seen in the Arena Chapel in Padua. This painting is known for the dark tones and the overwhelming sadness. It showcases the ...
4 comments
Read more

Masks

Painted Masks: Painted masks start off with a basic form of a face then the details are painted on. Sculptural Masks: Sculptural masks are carved or molded into a face along with some extreme detail. Ancient Greek Masks:  Ancient Greek masks are a form of sculptural masks, but they are far from human likeness. In comedy plays, the masks are so deformed to a specific emotion that they look ridiculous regardless of what they are trying to express. In tragedies, however, masks look more life-like to represent a person instead of a joke. All masks had their mouths wide open so that the actor could talk. They also had hair, nostrils, and large openings for the eyes built in for the actor to breathe and see.
4 comments
Read more

Jan Van Eyck

Jan Van Eyck was born in the year of 1395 and was a prominent figure of the Early Netherlandish art of his time. Van Eyck served as an official to the ruler of Holland, John of Bavaria-Straubing. By this time he had assembled a small workshop and was involved in redecorating the Binnenhof palace. After John's death in 1425, he moved to Bruges and came to the attention of Philip the Good, and he was freed from commissions because of the court's salary. He used oils for his paintings and Van Eyck often conveyed what he saw as a harmony of the spiritual and material worlds using iconographic elements. The painting above is called the Arnolfini Portrait done by Jan Van Eyck. It forms a full-length double portrait, believed to showcase an Italian merchant named Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife. This oil painting has unique feature that was revolutionary at the time: a mirror. In the background, you can see a mirror reflecting the couple in the portrait. This was not ...
3 comments
Read more