Edited by Adriano Pedrosa, André Mesquita. Text by André Mesquita, David Deitcher, Douglas Crimp, Gran Fury, Marcos Martins, Vinicius Franco.
A sweeping look at the history of the artist collective whose graphic poster designs helped define the visual culture of AIDS activism
Gran Fury (1988–95) was a New York–based activist artist collective that emerged from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), an organization founded in 1987 to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States through political activism. Named for the vehicle favored by the New York City police, Gran Fury formed to summon a sense of collective indignation. The collective’s innovative graphic design campaigns were mobilized in ACT UP demonstrations to awaken the public to the disdain, neglect and silence of Ronald Reagan’s administration during the epidemic. The group produced posters, newspapers, stickers, photographs, videos and billboards that were circulated to transform perceptions about HIV/AIDS, interrogate ineffective public policies and underreported government data, interrupt misconceptions disseminated by the media, confront the morality of religious institutions, and alleviate the stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV/AIDS. They worked closely with other activist groups, including the Silence=Death Project, whose posters featuring a pink triangle came to be a defining visual of the AIDS crisis. This richly illustrated catalog is a comprehensive survey of the collective’s body of work. It includes unpublished essays, historical interviews, rare pamphlets, photographs and ephemera that altogether chart the development of a new visual language for effecting social change. Gran Fury: Art Is Not Enough is an indispensable reference for the study of the intersection of activism and the arts in the late 20th century.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Gran Fury: Art Is Not Enough.'
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Join us February 13–15, 2025, for the College Art Association's Annual Conference in New York! Please visit us at Booth 218 to browse forthcoming, new and classic Academic Titles including Gran Fury: Art Is Not Enough—the subject of a panel discussion on Friday, February 14, from 4:30–6:30 PM (see below). In neighboring Booth 216, enjoy a special selection of titles from DelMonico Books, including Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film, published to accompany the exhibition on view now at LACMA.
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Out now from MASP and KMEC Books, Gran Fury: Art Is Not Enough is, unfortunately, perfectly timed for this moment in America—not only looking back to our recent pandemic, but applied to the current administration’s epic war on diversity, gender freedom and civil rights. The first major survey of the game-changing NYC activist artist collective whose late-80s to mid-90s graphic artworks fearlessly demanded change around the outrages of the AIDS epidemic, this indispensable catalog includes 156 reproductions of artworks, documentary photographs, pamphlets, manifestoes and other rare ephemera, alongside previously unpublished essays and historical interviews. “Acknowledging that ‘art is not enough’ does not signify a complete renunciation of art in favor of activism,” MASP curator André Mesquita writes, “nor does it imply that artistic practices are ineffective in driving social change. On the contrary, Gran Fury’s assertion suggests that simply creating art about a crisis is no longer enough. Rather, periods of challenge present revolutionary moments for radical imagination and the confrontation of hegemonic and oppressive systems. Their graphic work encourages us to recognize the urgent need for artists, activists and cultural agents to unite as a solid political force towards direct action that aligns with protest movements.” The poster When a Government Turns Its Back on Its People (1988) was commissioned for Full Blown Image AIDS: An Art Exhibition about Living and Dying, Neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, Berlin, Germany. continue to blog
FORMAT: Pbk, 8 x 10.75 in. / 216 pgs / 156 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $39.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $56.95 GBP £34.99 ISBN: 9786557770504 PUBLISHER: Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand/KMEC Books AVAILABLE: 3/25/2025 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: WORLD Except Brazil
Published by Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand/KMEC Books. Edited by Adriano Pedrosa, André Mesquita. Text by André Mesquita, David Deitcher, Douglas Crimp, Gran Fury, Marcos Martins, Vinicius Franco.
A sweeping look at the history of the artist collective whose graphic poster designs helped define the visual culture of AIDS activism
Gran Fury (1988–95) was a New York–based activist artist collective that emerged from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), an organization founded in 1987 to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States through political activism. Named for the vehicle favored by the New York City police, Gran Fury formed to summon a sense of collective indignation. The collective’s innovative graphic design campaigns were mobilized in ACT UP demonstrations to awaken the public to the disdain, neglect and silence of Ronald Reagan’s administration during the epidemic. The group produced posters, newspapers, stickers, photographs, videos and billboards that were circulated to transform perceptions about HIV/AIDS, interrogate ineffective public policies and underreported government data, interrupt misconceptions disseminated by the media, confront the morality of religious institutions, and alleviate the stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV/AIDS. They worked closely with other activist groups, including the Silence=Death Project, whose posters featuring a pink triangle came to be a defining visual of the AIDS crisis.
This richly illustrated catalog is a comprehensive survey of the collective’s body of work. It includes unpublished essays, historical interviews, rare pamphlets, photographs and ephemera that altogether chart the development of a new visual language for effecting social change. Gran Fury: Art Is Not Enough is an indispensable reference for the study of the intersection of activism and the arts in the late 20th century.
