Design Against Aids
Do you remember last year’s cooperation between BlaH&M and Designers Against Aids that produced a collection of T-Shirts with prints designed by a bunch of celebrities? Well, if you think you can do better than them you will get the chance to do so with Dawanda, MySpace and, of course, Designers Against Aids. Your task is to create a reinvention of the Red Ribbon. It can be anything, a shirt, a postcard, an accessory, or whatever else that comes to mind. 10% of the proceeds of your product at the Dawanda shop will go directly to DAA to help them educate the world about HIV and AIDS. On December 1st the best designs will be rewarded. More about the competition here.
I personally never really liked the Red Ribbon. It’s supposed to be a symbol of awareness but it says so little and makes the display of compassion all too easy. Also, the Red Ribbon shall not be used commercially. So we will not use it in our design. We’re doing it Katharine Hamnett style.
Here in Berlin the number of HIV infections per year have doubled since 2000. 90% of last year’s registered infections go to the account of gay men. No wonder that a lot of straight people think that they cannot get AIDS (only if you’re amongst those unlucky 10%). And, sad but true, there are some gay men who give each other gifts on the days of their infection. Happy infection day!
EDIT: Obviously some people think that I mean these slogans literally. Well, I don’t. You miss my point. It seems there is a need for an explaination. Read on for that.
With my shirts I’m trying to direct the attention to two problems: For one, as commentor G already pointed out, more and more straight women are getting infected. That doesn’t surprise me at all because I know plenty of women who think that knowing a guy for a couple of weeks or months will keep them save from STDs. No girls, without a test only a condome will do.
Secondly, and this is something I can get really anxious about, especially in places like Berlin, AIDS is still a big thing in the gay scene. Those infection numbers are proof. And again, that doesn’t surprise me. AIDS is being accepted now, not feared. Bareback communities and parties are growing. People seem to think they are invincible. But this has a high price.
by Frank
on November 23rd, 2008
in Uncategorized
30 Comments »
November 23rd, 2008 at 15:56h
Oh yeah. Why don’t we build some concentration camps for gay people? How about tatoos on their forehead like “I am gay, touch at your own risk”? And of course, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get AIDS when you’re straight. Every biology teacher in our schools should wear that shirt.
Your post is the dumbest thing i’ve read in my life.
November 23rd, 2008 at 17:42h
I actually couldn’t understand the poster. I assumed it was because I am an English speaker and perhaps the English translation is bad. Was this a poor attempt at sarcasm or humor?
Because if straght people could not get AIDS, there would be far fewer people dead. And I actually don’t think it is a matter for humor. Only in parts of Africa are the people indoctrinated by their leaders with the false belief that one cannot get AIDS through heterosexual activity. And heterosexual women are the fastest growing group of the AIDS infected.
November 23rd, 2008 at 17:56h
I also have no idea what is with this post. If it is an attempt at humor, it is a miserable failure, and one in remarkably bad taste. Just plain ignorant.
November 23rd, 2008 at 21:35h
Is this post for real? I can’t really believe what I’m reading.
November 23rd, 2008 at 23:12h
Guys, I do not mean this as a joke and I have nothing against gay people, how could I. Just to make this clear. These prints are a critique on people who do not take the dangers of HIV serious. I know a little too many straight women who think that taking the pill would be enough. And I know for a fact that a lot of gay people have gotten used to live with the danger of infection and for some reason decide that it is better to live with the disease instead of being afraid of it.
Nowadays people don’t really talk about AIDS as much, as if it would not be a thread anymore. So I am grateful if you speak your mind!
November 24th, 2008 at 00:01h
You have nothing against gay people? The shirts talk a different language.
„Straight people cannot get AIDS.“ means „Only gay people can get AIDS.“ First of all thats a lie. A very dangerous lie. Some people could belive that shit.
You make every gay men responsible for ALL infected people out there.
By the way. In Berlin are living much more gay people than in other cities. There are about 2000 new infected people every year and about 8 million gay people in Germany. So you really think everyone of this 8 million people should leave comments like yours behind? Only because a few hundreds can’t manage their responsibility for their infection?
Your second t-shirt makes me even more sick. Hope you get the nuts to wear this shirt at Berghain/Panorama Bar.
November 24th, 2008 at 00:07h
Okay, after discussing this with my co-author I realize that my text was a little misleading. So I edited the last paragraph to clarify my point.
Of course I could have made a shirt that said “Straight people can also get AIDS”, but what’s the point of that? Stating the opposite draws way more attention and that’s what I was going for.
November 24th, 2008 at 01:43h
er…wow. Like everybody else, I’m horrified by this post. I thought these kind of attitudes got left behind 20 years ago or more.
Frank, printing ‘faggot’ on a shirt is really not a great way of showing your gay-friendliness, to put it mildly. And as for the other one…you write that many straight women think taking the pill will protect them from AIDS. OK, how is telling them that ‘straight people cannot get AIDS’ going to help?
November 24th, 2008 at 12:11h
I didn’t see the original post before the edit, but I think what everyone seems to be missing here is that the t shirts are displaying some very popular misconceptions about how AIDS can be transmitted, and who is or isn’t vulnerable, the t shirts are a comment on how so many people are unbelievably ignorant or careless about Aids.
It may seem controversial but sometimes we need a shock, in this day and age the discussion on Aids should be free and open and at this point I think we should grow up a bit, there is no time to take offense at someone who is trying to raise AWARENESS. It made everyone here stop and think, that’s what we need. Just my 2 cents.
November 24th, 2008 at 12:56h
Christoph, Dan, lynz: STUPID PEOPLE! This IS sarcasm AND humor and its BRILLIANT! I love the shirt with: HAPPY INFECTION DAY, FAGGOT! This is FANTASTIC! AIDS is ART! DISCO!!!!!!!!!
November 24th, 2008 at 14:59h
Christoph, you know what I have a problem with? That you seem to think that criticising a very specific group of gay people makes me a hater of all gays. To me this does not make sense and I have know idea how I could ever make this more clear.
G, I feel bad about not having said anything about the whole Africa issue. This is a whole different chapter of the book.
Micah, I’m not being ignorant. At. All. Why would I post about this if I didn’t care?
linz, I hope you believe and -most importantly- understand now.
Dan, I don’t quite understand what you are reading into this, especially after my first two comments. It’s almost like you want me to be a gay hater and that’s the end of it.
November 24th, 2008 at 18:51h
someone speaks the truth. SHOCK!!!
November 25th, 2008 at 00:50h
Kind of alarming how many people don’t get the sarcasm and the humour of using a misconception as a slogan to draw attention to exactly the OPPOSITE. It just went right over your heads. Frank, slogans are meant to polarize and draw attention. I think it did both!
November 25th, 2008 at 16:52h
Frank, don’t justify yourself. It was pretty obvious what you meant. Some people just don’t have a sense for sarcasm…
November 26th, 2008 at 03:36h
i don’t care WHAT you THINK you are saying. i don’t care if you THINK you are addressing the problem. YOU ARE NOT. i am an artist. when you have to EXPLAIN your art, you are a shitty artist. when you have to have a disclaimer so that the ‘idiot masses’ can understand your art, you are a SHITTY artist. your points are nullified by your hateful rhetoric. these shirts suck, you suck. this post sucks. you’re an idiot. the gay movement and AIDS/HIV awareness does not need you. you should crawl back under your disgusting rock and stay there.
November 26th, 2008 at 03:38h
your sarcasm does not work. instead your work is petty, disturbing and will incite hatred towards those with HIV/AIDs. you’re an idiot if you don’t catch MY drift, and that is no sarcasm.
November 26th, 2008 at 03:40h
and you’d better hope i never see you in person, or THIS FAGGOT will show you what sarcasm feels like.
November 26th, 2008 at 03:47h
and to faggottybubu:
what are you 12? shock art was fine in 1975. this isn’t shock art, it’s schlock art. it isn’t smart. the sarcasm doesn’t work. i hope you wear these shirts in public and get the shit kicked out of you by my fellow faggots you motherfucker.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:44h
casey, darling: why don’t you stick a turkey up your bum? it feels good. smells good, looks good! HAPPY SARCASM DAY!
November 26th, 2008 at 12:36h
Casey, as an artist you should know that not everybody will understand a piece of art, and that does not automatically make it bad art. And if you swear like that and threaten people you only degrade yourself as a commenter…
November 26th, 2008 at 14:34h
Before the first edit the post didn’t say “No wonder that a lot of straight people think that they cannot get AIDS” – this was added, and not “sad but true, there are some gay men who give each other gifts on the days of their infection” but instead..”Did you know..” I was initially shocked that it seemed you believed these messages to be true..no hint of sarcasm at all. I still wouldn’t like to see what would happen if you wore those t-shirts out in public, not a pretty picture. I can see what you are doing but for me it just doesn’t work.
November 26th, 2008 at 14:47h
Oh mein Gott! Woher kommt dieser ganze Hass zwischen den Schwulen. Selten habe ich es erlebt das sich schwule gegenseitig drohen, beleidigen und verkloppen wollen. Was ist los mit dem Regenbogenvolk???? (Happy Sarcasm day)
Nein aber im Erst.Macht es wie in Mexico und geht in blutige Hahnenkampf Arenen aber diese Internetattacken sind eher feige als beieindruckend.
Und das “cassey” als “echter” Künstler anfängt ein paar bedruckte T-shirts mit sprüchen als schlechte Kunst zu bezeichnen finde ich irgendwie absurd. Seit wann ist ein bedrucktes T-shirt Kunst? oh mein Gott ich bin dann auch ein Künstler…….
Das word “faggot” finde ich übrigens auch nicht besonders intelligent gewählt, aber die entstehende Polarisierung ist spannend. Und der text, ich mein Iheartberlin ist nicht die faz oder die süddeutsche aber ich sehe darin keine “hateful rhetoric”.
November 26th, 2008 at 20:41h
julian: you have the nerve to tell me my comments degrade ME? the tshirts you are defending are degrading. they are degrading to every single friend of mine that has died of AIDS/HIV since the early 1980s. they are degrading to every single friend of mine, including me, that has been fag-bashed almost to the point of death for nothing more than walking near the front door of a gay bar. they are degrading to every single person LIVING with HIV/AIDS right now, fighting the health system, fighting the social mores, fighting to stay alive. and then some pissant artist in the year 2008 thinks he has INVENTED SARCASM and that we should all celebrate his genius? fuck no. this isn’t clever, this isn’t intelligent. it is just wrong. it is evocative of everything that is wrong with this world. this isn’t shocking in the informative sense. it is shocking in a very real, fucked up and pathetic ‘look at me’ way.
not good. not even close.
November 26th, 2008 at 20:59h
the AIDS/HIV epidemic and plague is not ironic. there is nothing about it that should be treated as some art school play on words. sarcasm is entirely the wrong concept to even dabble with concerning this disease. the fact that so many of you don’t get that is troubling to say the least.
go back to the red ribbon. at least it’s respectful. your lack of respect towards the disease and towards the people inflicted with this horror is the worst part of your ‘art.’ it’s obvious none of you have been touched personally by AIDS/HIV.
what IS art if it isn’t an expression of the human condition? what you are expressing is hate and intolerance. is that really what you want to say to the world? there is absolutely nothing in your ‘sayings’ that shows you do not BELIEVE those words, there is nothing in your sayings that says, “i’m looking towards the greater good and i mean the opposite of what i’m saying” there is nothing in your words that hasn’t been said by hateful people in the expression of hate towards gays.
November 27th, 2008 at 02:59h
ok, i am both a visual artist and musician. i get expression, and i get sarcasm. i get conveying a message to a broad audience. you have failed here. this is not an issue of different people interpreting art differently. your message is plain and clear. even if you truly care and feel it’s important to open a dialogue, those intentions are lost if the delivery boils down into a confusing message.
think about logos. they distill an entire company’s offerings and beliefs into one memorable symbol. imagine an organization against animal cruelty using a logo of a dagger through a kitten’s head, to “show you wrong they thought it was.” perhaps if they explained it to a bunch of people first then those people would then see it and understand it’s a “shock statement.” but what about the staggering majority of people who didn’t get a personal sit-down with the creator. they would just pass by on the street and see a kitten with a dagger. you know what they’d gather from that? some sicko thinks it’s cool to hurt animals. and they’d be really upset.
that’s what you’re doing here.
if you really care, that’s great. but there has to be a better way.
November 27th, 2008 at 13:53h
Hey,
ich habe von anfang an die Disussion mitverfolgt und bin tatsächlich enttäuscht. Nicht von Frankund auch nicht von den t-shirts sondern von den iheartberlin lesern, dass die Botschaft nicht durchdringen will. Da ich nur für das erste t-shirt sprechen kann, will ich mal ganz kurz erklären ws man dabei fühlt. Wir kennen AIDS/HIV wir wissen wie wir uns anstecken und wir wissen wie wir das vermeiden können und dennoch kommt bei heterosexuellen, vor allemvor dem sex, wenn keine kondome zur hand sind, dieser gedanke auf: die wahrscheinlichkeit, dass ich mich anstecke als heterosexueller ist verschwindend gering, es ist also quasi unmöglich. Und ob du nun aufgeklärt bist und über die hintergründe bescheid weißt, ob du am weltaidstag deine rote schleife trägst oder von mir aus auch spendest ist in diesem moment egal. Deshalb vrursacht franks erstes t-shirt einfach nur schuldgefühle, bei menschen die wissen, dass der spruch shockieren will, die aber dennoch in einer impulsiven und vielleicht für einen bruchteil einer Sekunde genau das gleiche gedacht haben.
November 27th, 2008 at 13:55h
ach ja und wenn leute, die sprüche auf den t-shirts ernst nehmen und sie für tatsachen halten, dannwar die aufklärungsarbeit in den letzten jahrzehnten quasi umsonst.
November 27th, 2008 at 14:20h
yeah it’s controversial – but don’t die over it casey&co…
December 1st, 2008 at 10:16h
Berlin has 3.4 Million citizens. 500 of them got infected this year. 450 where gay men. 50 of them where heterosexual, most of them junkies.
Although I like gay men, I am not willing to fuck with Kondom for solidarity while the risk to get infekted is nearly zero, in Berlin it is 0,001! This is a fact. It is my risk managment, and my riskmanagment says, that is ok.
I dont like the shirts, too, they are too hard. But gay men should forget that HIV-victims are always victims.. it is forbidden to say that, of course .
December 1st, 2008 at 23:37h
mike, sadly, there are some other STDs that are way more common than HIV, so don’t forget about them, when you spare the condom. and I think for straight people this was never thought to be an act of solidarity. it’s for your own good.