Name/Title
(1988) c. ACT UP, Richard Deagle, AIDS — It’s Big Business! (But Who’s Making a Killing?) Poster, United States, 1980sDescription
Richard Deagle, AIDS — It’s Big Business! (But Who’s Making a Killing?), 1980s
Political advocacy poster
Designer: Richard Deagle
Country: United States
Offset print poster, approx. 11 × 22 in. (27 × 55 cm)
This horizontally formatted poster features the word “AIDS” in large red capital letters, followed by the statement: “IT’S BIG BUSINESS! (BUT WHO’S MAKING A KILLING?).” The design adopts the structure and tone of commercial advertising while deploying pointed wordplay that links profit and mortality. The compact, banner-like format suggests use in demonstrations or rapid public display.
Produced during the height of the AIDS crisis, the poster reflects activist critiques of the political economy surrounding the epidemic, including pharmaceutical pricing, government contracting, research funding, and media attention. Rather than employing medical imagery or prevention messaging, the work directs attention toward institutional accountability and the commodification of crisis.
Archival records indicate that this poster appears within ACT UP New York holdings, and designer Richard Deagle was active within the AIDS activist milieu of late-1980s New York. Deagle references producing this work in the context of activist poster campaigns, and the image circulated alongside materials used in ACT UP demonstrations and public interventions. While the poster foregrounds Deagle’s authorship, its documented presence in ACT UP archives situates it within the broader visual culture of ACT UP–era direct action.
Preserved here as part of the historical record of AIDS activism, the work exemplifies the use of graphic design to interrogate power, profit, and public health during the epidemic.Create Date
July 29, 2025Update Date
October 15, 2026