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| Picture courtesy TheBody.Com |
Artist and activist Frank C. Moore II is best known as one of the
founding members of Visual
AIDS, a division of ACT-UP,
and especially as one of the creators of the red ribbon, a now universal
symbol of AIDS
awareness. He studied art for two years in Paris and had his first
show at the Clocktower in TriBeCa in 1990. Influenced by such eclectic
sources as the Surrealist school, commercial art and murals commissioned
by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Depression, Moore's
works centered around themes of nature and science. As his focus
shifted towards the medical establishment's slow response to the AIDS crisis,
his works increasingly covered the themes of bioethics and the environment.
The red ribbon was developed in 1990, and Frank Moore played an integral
part in the project. He was also one of the organizers of the Day
Without Art, a demonstration intended to show the heavy impact AIDS had
had on the arts community and how the loss to so many creative and talented
workers in turn impacted society as a whole.
Over the years, Frank Moore's work became part of the collections
of the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library, the Albright-Knox
Art Gallery, and also the Whitney Museum of American Art, which
included an exhibit of his work in its 1995 Biennial showcase of contemporary
artists. His most notable works include "Niagara," depicting a DNA
helix rising from the mists of the famous falls, and "Yosemite," which
depicted the national park turned into a virtual junkyard by excessive
tourism. Moore believed that AIDS was a consequence of humanity's
abuse of the planet, and reflected this in his art. Moore himself
died in April of 2002 from complications of the syndrome.
Links:
Obituary
at Fridae Magazine
"Oz," by Frank Moore
AP
Obit
Memorial
Page at The Body.com
Visual AIDS
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