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Art Art & Books

AIDS inspires activists

0.7% at Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts (984 Queen West), to August 20. 416-504- 7142. Rating: NNN

General Idea outside the Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen’s Park), to October 1 (unveiling August 12, from 6:30 pm). 416-586-8000.

Ultra-Red at the Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas West), to November 26 (performance August 14 at 8 pm). $8, stu/srs $5. 416-979-6648, www.ultrared.org.

Rating: NNNNN


During the XVI International AIDS Conference, dozens of galleries are mounting exhibits to show their solidarity with those seeking a cure and their outrage at the way AIDS is still spreading.

Even with the limited availability of treatments like AZT and the anti-retroviral cocktail, the core issues remain the same: there is no cure, and treatment is unattainable by the vast majority of those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

At Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, 0.7% examines slow governmental response to the pandemic. Karen Deuitch ‘s minimalist Hope Mark is a simple piece of paper on which is written the word “HOPE,” implying both a plea and a pledge for change. Bruce Gavin Ward tackles the front line of the disease with Donor, a used shrunken condom with a drop of blood at its tip. Rupen ‘s Deleted triptych, square black paintings on MDF board with tiny chunks sawed out of them, is an abstract investigation of the facelessness of AIDS-related deaths.

Among the other AIDS-related art events are the L.A.-based sound art collective Ultra-red at the AGO (see story, page 60), a show by the Transmission Commission Collective (of which I am a member) at 925 Queen West, and others at A Space, Rebecca Gallery, OCAD, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and more.

Seminal group General Idea pioneered using visual culture to comment on AIDS-related issues. In 1987, the trio (two members, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal , have since died of the disease) appropriated Robert Indiana’s flower-power graphic, changing the word “LOVE” to “AIDS” to create an iconic piece that serves as a reminder of a painful past and disconcerting future. The 3-metre AIDS sculpture will be unveiled at the ROM by surviving member AA Bronson .

This sculpture reasserts GI’s indelible mark on contemporary art.

Full coverage of events at www.aids2006.org .

art@nowtoronto.com

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