at the Institute of Cultural Inquiry
Over the years, ICI associates have brought focus to AIDS through essays and artworks such as this image-test document which summarized the impact of AIDS on the discipline of Art History in the mid-1990s. This image was published in PART, a journal produced at the City University of New York.
In conjunction with World AIDS Day, the Institute of Cultural Inquiry (ICI) is proud to present Forget Foucault, a tactical event aimed at AIDS awareness and remembrance. Forget Foucault uses button badges with the names of notable people who have died as a result of AIDS, along with either “forget” or “remember.” The buttons will be given out for free and people will be able to pick the button(s) of their choice. In this, the project questions who and how we remember (or choose not to remember) those that society has lost. Over the last 20 years, ICI has remained steadfast in its efforts to raise awareness for AIDS through projects such as the AIDS Bottle Project (1990-2000) and the AIDS Chronicles (1994-present). Forget Foucault is a continuation of these efforts.
For up to the minute information on the day of the event, follow us on Twitter @ForgetFoucault
Featured Identities
Robert Mapplethorpe (Artist, Photographer)
Isaac Asimov (Science Fiction Writer)
Fela (Musician)
Carlos Almaraz (Painter)
Alvin Ailey (Dancer, Choreographer)
Michel Foucault (Philosopher,
Social Theorist)
Arthur Ashe (Tennis Star)
Easy-E (Rap/Hip-hop artist)
Felix Gonzalez-Torres (Artist)
Liberace (Performer)
Freddie Mercury (Musician)
An Anonymous Woman
A Parentless child
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90036
Site of AIDS Bottle Project 1990, 1991
1318 Third Street Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Front of United Colors of Benetton, former site of Midnight Special Bookstore (closed 2003)
Site of AIDS Chronicles 1994, 1996
LACMA is located in central Los Angeles, midway between downtown and Santa Monica, 1/2 mile south of the Grove. By bus: Metro 20 & 720 on Wilshire and 217, 218 and 780 on Fairfax all stop within half a block of the museum. By bike: Visitors traveling by bicycle may wish to plan their route using a bike map. Bicycle racks are located on Wilshire near the intersection of Spaulding, and north of the BP Grand Entrance just inside the 6th Street gate. By car: From the Santa Monica Freeway (10), take Fairfax Avenue north 2 miles to Wilshire Boulevard. From the southbound Hollywood Freeway (101), take Highland Avenue 3.5 miles south to Wilshire Boulevard; take a right on Wilshire and proceed 1 mile west to LACMA.
Third Street Promenade is located in Downtown on Third Street between Wilshire Blvd. and Broadway. By Bus: Santa Monica Big Blue Bus lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 77 all stop within close proximity to the promenade. By Car: From Downtown Los Angeles: West on the 10 Santa Monica Freeway. Exit Fifth Street heading north (right). To reach the Promenade: West (left) on Arizona Avenue. From Los Angeles International Airport, South Bay and Orange County: North on the 405 Freeway. West on the 10 Santa Monica Freeway. Exit Fifth Street heading north (right). To reach the Promenade: West (left) on Arizona Avenue. From Woodland Hills and the San Fernando Valley: East on the 101 Freeway. South on the 405 Freeway. West on the 10 Santa Monica Freeway. Exit Fifth Street heading north (right). To reach the Promenade: West (left) on Arizona Avenue.
For LACMA, parking is available at the Pritzker Parking Garage, located on Sixth Street just east of Fairfax Avenue, and also in the lot at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Spaulding Avenue. The charge is $10 and may be prepaid at all Welcome Centers. Credit cards are accepted. Vehicles entering the Pritzker Parking Garage after 7 pm park for free. Metered street parking on Wilshire and in the surrounding neighborhood is between $1.00 and $2.00 per hour (2 hour max.)
For Third Street Promenade parking is available in Structures 1-9: vehicles entering 6am to 5:59pm: First two hours free, $1.00 every thirty minutes thereafter, $9.00 daily max. Vehicles entering after 6pm: $5.00 flat rate. Additional lot parking is available at the Santa Monica Public Library: $0.50 every thirty minutes, $10.00 daily max. $3.00 daily max for vehicles entering after 4pm and on weekends. And at the Civic Auditorium: $1.50 every 20 minutes, $9.00 daily max. $3.00 flat rate for vehicles entering after 6pm. Metered Street parking directly adjacent to the promenade is $1.00 per hour.
Valet parking is available on Second and Fourth Streets between Broadway and Colorado at Santa Monica Place. Receive 3 hours complimentary valet if you dine at one of Santa Monica Place’s restaurants (with validation) Standard valet pricing is at the following rates: $8 for the first 2 hours; $2 for each additional hour with a $20 max single day rate
For more information on the ICI and our projects, please visit us at
www.culturalinquiry.org
Institute of Cultural Inquiry
1512 S. Robertson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
T: 310.273.7181
info@culturalinquiry.org
Kerckhoff Gallery, UCLA, 2008
Midnight Special Bookstore, Santa Monica, CA. 1996
Setting up the AIDS Chronicles’ display.
New Museum Of Contemporary Art, New York, 1995
The Chronicle was displayed in the lobby and visitors to the museum turned its pages at a rate determined by the number of AIDS deaths that year with each turn of the page representing a person that had died. This interactive display was positioned to occupy the Museum’s street-level display window, thereby bringing its message to the thousands of people who passed by the window on a daily basis.
Page turning the AIDS Chronicles.
One volume of the 1995 AIDS Chronicles.
More on DAY WITHOUT ART
Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1990
AIDS Bottles displayed in front of the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Dec. 1, 1990
L.A. Eyeworks 1991
The AIDS Chronicles are historical, statistical documents that record the discourse surrounding one of the defining events of our age: the AIDS pandemic. Each yearly volume consists of 365 front pages from the New York Times, collected over the year from 1 December to 30 November. These pages are treated on both sides with three layers of acrylic paint, producing blood-red sheets that leave visible only images or articles that mention AIDS or HIV, thus recording of the (lack of) day-to-day discourse on AIDS in one of the most read newspapers in the United States.
Periodically, these documents are displayed on December 1st, World AIDS Day, either on a pedestal or in an imposing grid arrangement, to allow members of the community to view the pages that mark a year of AIDS history. After each period of display, an artist is commissioned by the Institute to bind the pages and create an original cover for the annual volume before it is deposited in the ICI Library for permanent display. In years when the Chronicles are not displayed, associates, supporters and community volunteers come together on December 1st to paint the pages of these yearly tomes.
The process of creating Chronicle pages is not difficult but it is time-consuming. Not only are the pages subjected to a three-part painting process on each side, they also must be cut, read for articles, arranged chronologically and interleafed with glassine. On average, each page takes 1.5 hours to produce. The method of their making and display is simple but the questions are endless and complex.
The following links provide overview of the history and current status of this project:
If you are interested in creating a cover for a volume of the AIDS Chronicles, or if you would like to participate in this project as a volunteer, please contact us. You can support the continuation of this project by painting pages digitally here or through our gift shop.