Exhibition
Labor of Love: Creating Art and CommunityNotes
Used as a way to remember people who have left the area, those who have passed, and family memories, among other things, quilting holds a unique ability to place remembrance physically in fabric as well as the act of creating. Memory quilts, in particular, gained importance in the wake of the AIDS crisis that devastated communities at the end of the 20th century and into the 21st. This memory quilt panel is dedicated to Frank L. McCormack, who succumbed to a battle with AIDS on February 3rd, 1991, at 37 years old. The panel was created by Elaine Beckett (seen here) for Maine’s portion of the National AIDS Memorial quilt and displayed at Morse High School and the Patten Free Library in Bath, ME accompanied by a banner stating “AIDS: SILENCE = DEATH” as well as informational leaflets and posters. At the time of the display over 400 Maine residents had been diagnosed with AIDS and more than 3,000 were HIV positive. The project, conceived by human rights activist Cleve Jones in 1985, is one of the largest community art projects in history now weighing over 54 tons and dedicated to more than 110,000 individuals. The quilt project increased education about the disease, raising awareness, and creating empathy around something that was sold to the American people as an oddity. We feel the impact of the lost generation still today, yet are reminded of their strength and beauty through projects like the AIDS memorial quilt.