Giard, Robert, photographer. Larry Kramer with Molly, NYC. 1989. Printed 1990. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/97517895/. (First thumbnail in this Resource Guide: https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/subject/hiv-aids.)
This photograph is valuable in a classroom because it offers an opportunity to teach not only about the relationship between the artist and their art, but also about the historical context of the AIDS public health crisis in conjunction with LGBTQIA+ persecution during and after the Holocaust. It highlights the role intersectionality plays in understanding overlapping forms of identity discrimination and how these narratives dialogue through art and protest over time. Additionally, this photograph can show students ways to raise awareness of issues they care about, as Kramer did through writing, community organizing, and other forms of art and public advocacy. Using the pink triangle—though not pink in the black-and-white photo—educators can explore how symbols and language once used to disparage people can later become empowering when reclaimed.
This black-and-white photograph features the late Larry Kramer, a renowned artist, gay rights advocate, and public health activist. He is dressed in a sweater emblazoned with the words “SILENCE = DEATH,” accompanied by a pink triangle above the text. Larry, with a shaved head, wears an ACT UP pin and gazes to the left, seemingly out a window, while holding his dog, Molly.
This photo was taken of Larry Kramer amid the HIV/AIDS crisis, so it would be helpful for students to know more about Larry Kramer’s work as a writer, artist, activist, and public health advocate. As Larry was himself Jewish and an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights—who, according to this interview on NPR, found out he was HIV-positive shortly before this photo was taken—historical context would help students better understand the “SILENCE = DEATH” slogan on his sweater with a pink triangle—a reference to and reclamation of the symbol used to denote LGBTQIA+ persecution in Nazi Germany. Additionally, Larry Kramer was a founder of ACT UP, an organization created to organize direct action to end the AIDS crisis and that was an integral part of Kramer’s vast legacy.
- What are effective ways to raise awareness about a cause or an issue?
- In what ways can art serve as a form of protest?
- How does context shape an audience’s interpretation of a photograph?
- How can art help humanize people who are otherwise systemically and historically disenfranchised?
- How can counterculture movements collaborate across time?
- How can understanding both the artist and the subject of their art shift the audience’s perspective on art and its impact?
NCTE Standards and Common Core standards
NCTE.7: Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
- By drawing on their own background knowledge and research, students can make connections across time and content areas and come to larger thematic conclusions.
RI.9-10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
- By analyzing the photograph as one medium of art or history or narrative in a lesson, students can recognize the artistic choices and details highlighted in this photograph.
RI.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
- By integrating the use of photography as a prompt for further inquiry, students can respond to questions and practice crafting their own.
- This photograph could serve as a prompt for diverse lessons across various age groups and subjects. For example, it could provide background information on the AIDS epidemic in an English or theatre class before reading or performing Jonathan Larson’s Rent or Tick, Tick…Boom!, or Tony Kushner’s play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Since the AIDS crisis is central to all three works, the photograph might offer valuable context for understanding the themes and inspiration behind these forms of art. Similarly, it reflects Larry Kramer’s lifelong commitment to using art and community organizing to raise awareness and drive cultural and political change to support those living with HIV and AIDS. Additionally, the photograph and these plays could help students explore the importance of community and hope during times of despair.
- From an artistic perspective, the photograph might inspire a discussion about the contrast between public and private lives, focusing on how the portrait reveals a more vulnerable, “behind-the-scenes” depiction of a man who battled systemic obstacles publicly while managing his own health challenges. For an art analysis lesson, the photograph could serve as a starting point for a research or inquiry project on the relationship between the artist and their work. Both Larry Kramer and the photographer, Richard Giard, were queer artists who centered their art on queer people and their stories, making this photograph particularly rich for exploration.
- From a historical or public health perspective, students could use nonfiction texts such as A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski (available in adult and young adult versions) or When We Rise: My Life in the Movement by Cleve Jones to analyze the intended and actualized impacts of activism by artists, focusing on public health or policies affecting the LGBTQIA+ community. Educators might also begin by asking students what they already know about the history of HIV/AIDS in America, as well as about their familiarity with ACT UP or the SILENCE = DEATH slogan. This context could enhance lessons on texts centered around the AIDS crisis, such as The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai or Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. The effects of AIDS in the 1980s are also explored briefly yet significantly in Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic.
- Educators might also use the photograph as supplementary context for young adult novels like The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg or Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian, which could be incorporated into book clubs or larger independent reading projects.
- Some individuals may challenge the introduction of this photo due to its association with LGBTQIA+ political activism, which criticized the government and society for both blaming and ignoring the LGBTQIA+ community during the spread of HIV and AIDS. Such challenges often stem from fears rooted in homophobia or discomfort with confronting dominant historical narratives that disparaged those affected by HIV and AIDS. Additionally, there may be concerns about discussing Nazi Germany and the pink triangle, either due to discomfort with the violence of the Holocaust or objections rooted in antisemitism.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- To address concerns related to homophobia, educators can reference GLSEN’s guidebook for supporting LGBTQ+ students, which includes a section on unpacking internalized homophobia.
- In order to help address concerns related to antisemitism, Facing History and Ourselves offers extensive resources for responding to antisemitism and teaching about the Holocaust.
- The program for a benefit for AIDS research would be a strong alternative to see how society rallied around AIDS victims.
- Leonard Matlovich is arrested in front of the White House, Washington, D.C., is is another resource to use to explain to students the AIDS crisis in America and what happened to people who spoke out.
- “Robert Giard Photographs.” Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, September 13, 2022. https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/collections/highlights/robert-giard-photographs.
- This source provides another place to explore Robert Giard’s work, as well as to learn more context about Giard’s larger projects and hopes as an artist.
- “A Timeline of the HIV and AIDS Epidemic.” HIV.gov. Accessed December 29, 2024. https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline.
- This website, managed by the US government, provides a thorough history of HIV and AIDS, including policy shifts and cultural movements in recent decades.
- “What Is ACT UP?” ACT UP NY, January 1987. https://actupny.com/contact/.
- In order to learn more about the history of ACT UP, educators and students can refer to their website.