SILENCE = DEATH began life as a head-turning poster on the streets of New York. It was a potent piece of activism; a clarion call for the war against AIDS. In the mid-80s, Brooklyn artist Avram Finkelstein started a consciousness-raising collective. Their goal: to explore what it meant to be gay amidst the AIDS crisis.
Over the coming weeks Finkelstein, along with Chris Lione, Jorge Soccarás, Oliver Johnston, Charles Kreloff and Brian Howard, bonded over their grief and rage. Through their weekly meetings the group discovered the innately political nature of their experience. It was clear to them that the enemy wasn’t AIDS, it was the government, its institutions, and the media. With their anger politicized, the collective began work on a poster that would convey their message: ignoring AIDS is neglectful and has deadly consequences.
They knew the potential power of a poster. In an age before the internet, the most effective means of disseminating information outside of mainstream media was the streets. But this was the 80s and there was no time for long winded manifestos. To grab attention their poster had to be brief, vernacular, catchy and cool.
The pink triangle was chosen for its reputation as a recognisable and inclusive gay symbol. Traditionally pale pink, the triangle was updated with vivid fuchsia and turned upside down. In fact the reversal was an accident that was later imbued with meaning: inverting a symbol of victimhood to reclaim power.
The group devised a simple and irrefutable statement, SILENCE = DEATH. Finklestein dubbed it, “New Math for the Age of AIDS”. The vast black background gave the graphic room to resonate. With wall space at a premium in New York City, the expansive background was defiant and formidable in its refusal to fill space with economy. In March 1987, SILENCE = DEATH was wheat pasted across Manhattan.