ART AGAINST AIDS is one of Friedman’s later works, made in 1987. This work was made for a coalition of artists and galleries to have an exhibition to raids money to benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research. From what I can gather about Friedman and his personality, he most likely did this poster for free to help the cause.^[1]

There seems to be a certain brand that Friedman was trying to adhere to as well, as there are other posters and calendars using the same type and slash though the word “against”. Sadly, I can’t seem to find much information on this particular piece, despite – or maybe because of – it’s proximity to Keith Haring and his Silence is Death campaign.

This project would have been immensely important for Friedman; both he and his close friend and fellow activist Keith Haring had AIDS^[2] and this project would have been in line with Friedman’s history of helping his friends and being an activist.^[1]

Friedman seemed to care about or be particularly proud of this piece, as a copy of it stayed with him or his family till his death in 1995^[2], after which it was donated to the Cooper Hewitt collection by his brother Ken Friedman in 1997.

Images

1. Friedman, Dan. “Cooper Hewitt.” Cooper Hewitt, Cooper Hewitt, https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18673481/.

References

1. “Dan Friedman.” AIGA. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
2. “Dan Friedman, Graphic Designer, 49.” Obituaries. The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
3. “Poster, Art Against Aids.” Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18673481/.