AIDS: 1 in 61

As the toll of AIDS mounted, and HIV spread to other groups beyond the gay men who initially bore its brunt—all the while with little to no response on the part of the New York City’s administration—the anonymous collective Gran Fury formed as ACT UP’s "unofficial propaganda ministry," in one contemporary’s words, to continue an artistic response aimed at advocacy and public awareness. This first poster project aimed to alert the public to the shockingly large percentage of children who were then contracting the virus at birth. The print’s bold font and stark but effective organization of information is a hallmark of the group’s graphics that preceded and followed. This, coupled with its message that ignorance and mishandling of the AIDS crisis was not merely an issue of homophobia but also one of institutionalized racism proves to this day a powerful one.