PHOTO15, a photo auction to support the creation of the AIDS Monument in West Hollywood, will be held at Milk Studios this evening.
Proceeds from the event’s cocktail reception and auction will benefit a national AIDS monument in West Hollywood Park, which is part of the City of West Hollywood’s $85 million park renovation.
Art curators from leading galleries collaborated with private collectors to assemble a collection for the auction. Among the artists are Jeff Wall, whose “Dead Troops Talk” photograph sold for $3.6 million. Other famous photographers and the work they have donated include Arthur Elgort with his candid image of super model Gia, Catherine Opie and her “Candlelight Vigil 1989” and photographer and illustrator Antonio Lopez and his iconic image of “Grace Jones with First Album.” Both Gia and Antonio died of AIDS in the 1980s.
The event begins at 7 p.m. at Milk Studios 855 N Cahuenga Blvd. in Los Angeles.
Designed by Daniel Tobin of Urban Art Projects, the AIDS Monument will have a large digital component offering an integrated technology both on-site and online. Visitors will be able to upload their own memorials including stories, videos, and images of lost ones as well as honor caregivers, community leaders, and activists that continue to fight against HIV/AIDS. A video rendering of the monument is posted at the top of this story.
Tickets, which range from $250 for VIP admission to $125 for general admission, are available online.
Tobin and anyone else are free to work for whomever they want, but a West Hollywood AIDS Memorial should not have in any way even the slightest connection to Saudi Arabia (via Tobin or anyone else) where gays face capital punishment by hanging, beheading, or stoning and women are lashed and worse if disobedient to daily oppression And a local person who knows our history should be given this commission.
Ty Geltmaker
While I applaud the idea of an AIDS memorial as an HIV+ ACTUP/Queer National,as an environmental designer and now as a citizen of West Hollywood I am dumfounded by the fact that the architect selected to do the AIDS memorial located in West Hollywood, in his own words says his most exciting project was in Saudia Arabia. Now I realize designers often gravitate towards money and funding for their visions good and bad but we all make choices in life and these reflect who we are and where our souls lie. A country which stones Homosexuals to death and treats… Read more »
Like many, I lost friends, roommates and boyfriends who contracted AIDS. The losses range over 10-20 years…beginning 30+ years ago. Currently I have many friends who are long term survivors and for that we’re all thrilled of course. But we remember a time when getting diagnosed as HIV+ was a death sentence despite the millions of dollars spent in several countries to identify the virus and treat it, if not kill it. There is still no solution, though cocktail treatments are invaluable. We haven’t changed thinking as many continue to gamble with their own health and that of others. A… Read more »