Gran Fury and the politics of AIDS: The rhetoric of visual argument in the gay and lesbian rights movement
Abstract
This study analyzed the relationship between art and activism within the context of the gay and lesbian rights movement during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Specifically, the study examined the possibility of visual argument and how Gran Fury's arguments, as expressed in its street art, advanced the movement. A two-part analysis of Gran Fury's street art first explored possible arguments presented in ten posters and second described the “strategy” activists adopted for advancing the movement during the AIDS epidemic. The first part examined Gran Fury's posters separately and described a number of possible arguments, presented as enthymemes, which viewers may have formulated. The second part of the analysis treated Gran Fury's posters as a comprehensive drama and described the movement's worldview as revealed in Gran Fury's art. The worldview described what was done, when or where it was done, who did it, how s/he did it, and why. Gran Fury used its political issue graphics to engage viewers in an active process in which the viewer made sense of the graphic by relying upon her/his experiences, knowledge of the content addressed in the art, the context in which the creator situates the graphic, and the poster's graphic and textual elements. Gran Fury employed street art to translate the personal experiences of gays and lesbians and people living with AIDS into symbols understandable by the public, and the posters fulfilled a number of functions. First, Gran Fury reduced a number of complex interconnected issues into a few words of text and visuals to raise the public's awareness of HIV/AIDS. Second, the posters served as an outlet for aggression by identifying the opposition. Third, Gran Fury helped shape a new identity for movement members, and in the process, this affected public opinion. Gran Fury's posters reflected a tension over purpose. Treatment and education served the immediate need of saving lives and preventing new infections, but treatment and education became a secondary concern and social justice became a primary concern. Social justice activists possessed an unbridled optimism and expressed a desire to end those conditions or “isms” that sustained the AIDS epidemic.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Stewart, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Communication
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