Making art from illness

HIV/AIDS is a global tragedy so devastating that it seems as
though beauty would be scarce in any artistic depiction of the
pandemic. But the glittering lights of awareness, activism,
education and community strength give hope for the future,
brightening an otherwise-dim portrait of the situation.

One such inspirational work of art is the Keiskamma Altarpiece,
a visual representation of a South African town’s battle with
HIV/AIDS. The piece, which is part of the MAKE ART/STOP AIDS
initiative, opens Wednesday in Kaufman Hall and will be on display
until March 11.

Made by 130 women in Hamburg, South Africa, the three-layer
altarpiece signifies even more than meets the eye ““ and at 13
by 22 feet, there is a lot to look at.

“Many of the images on the altarpiece are of individuals
in the community,” said Kristen Thompson, a UCLA alumna and
program assistant for the altarpiece.

“There are names written all over it. All of a sudden you
realize that these are names of people who have passed,” she
added. “It is an emotional representation of what (HIV/AIDS)
actually is. You’re compelled to understand really acutely
what is happening.”

Modeled after a Catholic altarpiece from 16th-century Germany
that has panels depicting suffering and eventual survival of the
plague, the Keiskamma Altarpiece is a powerful interpretation of
its 16th-century predecessor.

The Keiskamma Altarpiece’s intricately stitched people and
landscapes create something strikingly different from its
inspiration, yet similar in spirit.

David Gere, associate professor and co-chair of the UCLA
Department of World Arts and Cultures and director of MAKE ART/STOP
AIDS, explained the significance of the project’s roots.

“In looking at these images and reconceptualizing them,
male saints like St. Anthony were turned into images of old women
that are saints to their community,” Gere said. “Christ
on the cross became a mourning widow in her blue mourning
cloak.”

Gere added that the women of Hamburg have taken images such as
the ones above and made them their own.

“The women of the community have distilled these images
and have given them back to us in a very homespun way, showing us
their community and how they transcend their suffering,” he
said.

The women’s story of a town of 3,500, 30 percent of which
are infected with HIV, is told with fabric, yarn, thread, shiny
beads, wire and a wooden frame.

“This art piece is a basis for understanding and being in
contact with something that is across the world which we usually
think of in statistics,” said Paymon Ebrahimzadeh, a program
assistant to the Keiskamma Altarpiece. “Although this is
affecting one village locally, it’s an international
movement. It is a globalizing act.”

Ebrahimzadeh, also a UCLA alumnus, says the altarpiece is a
political piece. Its grassroots power makes it a remarkable tool
and its message has enabled an intercontinental exchange.

Many of the AIDS-related deaths in Hamburg and elsewhere could
have been prevented with antiretroviral drugs, but it will take a
greater worldwide understanding and emotional investment in this
issue for drugs to be widely distributed in places where they are
needed most.

“To create something people have to believe that there is
potential for the future,” said Claudia Spears, cochairwoman
of the Holman Organizing for People Empowerment Committee of Holman
United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, where the altarpiece was
previously on display.

“The women of Hamburg were so inspired by the idea that
they could create a masterpiece, and they could also earn funds to
help feed their family and purchase antiretroviral drugs for their
grandchildren by working on (the altarpiece),” Spears
added.

The Keiskamma Altarpiece is truly a masterpiece, but
Hamburg’s story is not finished.

“It leaves it to you,” Thompson said. “What
will the next chapter in this pandemic be? These women have set an
amazing precedent that we need to follow.”