In the face of thousands of activists, anti-vaccine groups, and even leaders who refuse to wear masks and comply with restrictions, epidemiologists believe that ignorance and prejudice are today one of the most powerful enemies in the fight against coronavirus. But this is not the first time that this has happened in a pandemic.
In 1981, when the HIV pandemic – which has killed 37 million people to date – was declared, AIDS was popularly known as the 4 H disease (homosexuals, heroin addicts, hemophiliacs and Haitians). Because the virus was believed to hit groups considered marginal, the rest of the population did not even take precautions to take care of themselves.
But in November 1990 there was a picture published by the magazine Life which is usually included between the most influential photographs of the 20th century. The scene captured by the American Therese Frare shows a dying 32-year-old David Kirby, lovingly accompanied by his family in his final moments, at an Ohio nursing home. “David was a gay activist, and what I tried to reflect in the photo was that he also belonged to a family, he had a father, a mother and a sister, like any of us, and that he was lovable with tenderness. and that they suffered with him “Frare recalled in an interview with LA NACION from Seattle, Washington, where he currently resides.
—
This was not the first time that Public Health benefited from photographs that helped raise awareness about a disease. It is enough to remember how the glamorous notices of the tobacco companies of a few decades ago were modified to the current photographs of the packages that include dramatic images about the damages that smoking produces.
In this regard, neurobiology speaks of the effect of qualia, that phenomenon of internal processing that occurs when a stimulus from any of the senses – in this case a visual image – reaches the brain and transforms an external data into a sensation or perception. This is how something totally abstract, like an unknown disease, thanks to a photograph can become a subjective experience, and even awaken compassion.
Regarding AIDS in the 1980s, Frare recalled that, in addition to the prejudices about who could get sick, there was a lot of misinformation. “People were afraid of catching AIDS even through the air or saliva and that is why they did not even want to go near the sick”He recalled.
In January 1990 Frare was a photojournalism student at Ohio University. And for a job at the faculty, he approached the Pater Noster House, a residence for terminally ill AIDS patients, with the aim of capturing a more human image of the sick.
She first signed up as a volunteer for a few months, but eventually she worked there for a couple of years. During her internship with Pater Noster, she became acquainted with David and his family, asking if she could photograph them during the disease process. David, as a gay activist, accepted the request with the idea of combating the social stigma on AIDS. But the only condition that he put on it was that the images were not used for profit, a commitment that Frare fulfills to this day. He never charged a penny for the rights to the photos.
“Actually, that request surprised me at that time because I never thought that portraits of an intern for an Ohio University job could generate any financial benefit,” he recalled.
—
But after the publication of the photo in the magazine Life six months later, and its reproduction in the media around the world, it won the World Press Photo award and it is estimated that it was seen by more than a billion people. To this was added that two years later, the Italian clothing company United Colors of Benetton He asked the family for permission to color the portrait and use it in its advertising campaign that did not bear any inscription, other than the name of the company.
—
The photo also aroused a strong controversy both due to the crudeness of the image and its veiled similarity with religious images, a kind of “Pieta” by Michelangelo – “Pietà”, was in fact the name that Benetton gave to his photo- , in this case a whole grieving family with their dying son.
“When I entered the room that day, I stood in silence in a corner, almost without moving, looking and photographing the scene. Later I knew that something really incredible had developed in that room, right in front of me, ”Frare recalled.
In addition to the concept that AIDS can affect anyone, the photographer reflected on the aesthetics of her portrait. “Obviously it is not an armed scene”, he pointed. “I have dozens of photos from that Saturday, May 5. But the one that was finally published is shocked by a spontaneous aesthetic composition, of which I became aware later. There are, for example, two triangular shapes, one of David and his father, and the other of his mother and sister. What is almost in the foreground are the hands of all who offer comfort, and also on the wall there is a picture of the hands of a Christ. There is a ‘punctum’, something that impacts, which is David’s deep but lost gaze looking out of the scene. In addition, lighting plays an important role. I think that although it is not a great shot from a technical point of view, everything adds authenticity to the portrait, “he said.
The Covid pandemic
In the interview with LA NACION, the photographer then made a jump to the present to talk about the current pandemic.
“I am a strong advocate for public health care, and that is why I cannot understand that, having all the resources to protect themselves from Covid in a simple way, there are people who do not take care of themselves and who on top of it campaignSaid Frare.
—
Regarding the images that have been published so far of the Covid, he stressed that in general the photographs have transmitted that this pandemic is being crossed “With very little humanity”. “Most of the shots are of patients surrounded by devices, with oxygen masks, who die far from their families, or photographs of exhausted doctors. That is why there is a general demand for humanize the treatment with the patient with Covid, and take care of the professionals”.
Some years ago Barb Cordle, director of the Pater Noster residence when David Kirby was interned there, reflected in front of the famous photograph: “You cannot look at that photo and hate a person with AIDS. You just can’t. So I think this portrait has done more to soften people’s hearts in the face of AIDS than any other image I have ever seen.”.
—
