From Powells.com
The Best Books of 2022 (So Far)
Staff Pick
A truly inspiring account of the work of ACT UP and, more specifically, Gran Fury, an activist art collective which emerged from ACT UP during the AIDS crisis. It covers their successes, their failures, the how, and the why of what they did. Gran Fury described themselves as a "...band of individuals united in anger and dedicated to exploiting the power of art to end the AIDS crisis" and this book showcases that in a powerful way. Recommended By Aster A., Powells.com
The past few years have seen some excellent books published that revisit ACT-UP's work during the AIDS crisis in the early 90s (see Sarah Schulman's Let the Record Show). It Was Vulgar & It Was Beautiful focuses specifically on Gran Fury, an affiliate group of artists in ACT-UP, their successes and failures, their iconic images and interpersonal struggles. Jack Lowery has written an eminently readable and ultimately inspiring story about the intersection of politics and art. Recommended By Adam P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
The story of art collective Gran Fury — which fought back during the AIDS crisis through direct action and community-made propaganda — offers lessons in love and grief.
In the late 1980s, the AIDS pandemic was annihilating queer people, intravenous drug users, and communities of color in America, and disinformation about the disease ran rampant. Out of the activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), an art collective that called itself Gran Fury formed to campaign against corporate greed, government inaction, stigma, and public indifference to the epidemic.
Writer Jack Lowery examines Gran Fury's art and activism from iconic images like the "Kissing Doesn't Kill" poster to the act of dropping piles of fake bills onto the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Lowery offers a complex, moving portrait of a collective and its members, who built essential solidarities with each other and whose lives evidenced the profound trauma of enduring the AIDS crisis.
Gran Fury and ACT UP's strategies are still used frequently by the activists leading contemporary movements. In an era when structural violence and the devastation of COVID-19 continue to target the most vulnerable, this belief in the power of public art and action persists.
Review
"A lively depiction of how graphic art can bring political activism to life." — Kirkus
Review
"Lowery debuts with a fascinating study of how art galvanized AIDS activism in the 1980s and '90s...The result is a captivating look at the power of art as a political tool." — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"Lowery lovingly portrays the strength, effort, happy victories, and overwhelming sadness of [ACT UP's] historic efforts...This is a rich and necessary documentation." — Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"Lowery's raw emotion strikes deep into the reader's conscience...Recommended for all interested in how art can change the world." — Library Journal (Starred Review)
Synopsis
Shortlisted for the J. Anthony Lukas Prize
The story of art collective Gran Fury--which fought back during the AIDS crisis through direct action and community-made propaganda--offers lessons in love and grief.
In the late 1980s, the AIDS pandemic was annihilating queer people, intravenous drug users, and communities of color in America, and disinformation about the disease ran rampant. Out of the activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), an art collective that called itself Gran Fury formed to campaign against corporate greed, government inaction, stigma, and public indifference to the epidemic.
Writer Jack Lowery examines Gran Fury's art and activism from iconic images like the "Kissing Doesn't Kill" poster to the act of dropping piles of fake bills onto the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Lowery offers a complex, moving portrait of a collective and its members, who built essential solidarities with each other and whose lives evidenced the profound trauma of enduring the AIDS crisis.
Gran Fury and ACT UP's strategies are still used frequently by the activists leading contemporary movements. In an era when structural violence and the devastation of COVID-19 continue to target the most vulnerable, this belief in the power of public art and action persists.
About the Author
Jack Lowery is a writer whose work has appeared in the Atlantic, the Times Literary Supplement, and on The Awl. He has taught in the Undergraduate Writing Program at Columbia University, where he also completed his MFA in nonfiction writing. He lives in Brooklyn.