On the eve of World AIDS Day, December 1st, we are taking a look back at one of the many works in our collection surrounding the AIDS crisis.
Carl Tandatnick (American, b. 1956)
AIDS Pyramid, 2015
Serigraph on paper
26 x 37in.
Gift of the Artist
Upon first glance, AIDS Pyramid looks like a simple repetition of the same two photographs of white and red blood cells. The border along the edges is unvaried and contrasting in black and white, while the middle areas play with scale and detail, offering us a closer glimpse into the cells. The top of the work holds a unsettling image of another form, that is somewhat haunting and menacing up against the black background. This cellular form is larger than any other cell we see in the work, adding to its intrigue. The overlapping scale of the images draws the viewers into the work, asking the viewer to explore what each scattered image entails.
As both an anesthesiologist and artist, Carl Tandatnick’s work constantly centers around science and mortality. His work was even featured in Times Square on the SONY Billboard as part of the 1994 World With(out) Art Day. His works are all very cellular and even a bit grotesque to some viewers, a reflection of his experience as a doctor and artist at the beginning of the AIDS of the epidemic. Through his varied images of the virus through an electron microscope, he hopes to acknowledge the gravity of of AIDS but also present “an aesthetic that is seductively beautiful, thereby engaging, educating, and moving my audience.”
Tandatnick’s work was included in the 2014 Re/Presenting HIV/AIDS exhibition curated by Dr. Ann M. Fox, Rosemary Gardner, Lia Newman, and Dr. Dave Wessner at the Van Every/Smith Art Galleries.
For more information on this year’s Day With(out) Art, presented by Visual AIDS, click here. If you would like to participate in any of our programming, refer to the poster below.
***In the chance of rain, evening programming will be moved to the Lily Gallery.