Jenny Holzer and Avant Arte's New Work Raises Awareness of Fight Against AIDS

Jenny Holzer and Avant Arte have joined forces on a new work, titled URGE AND URGE AND URGE, which consists of condoms in a handblown recycled-glass pharmacy jar. The project was created in collaboration with the New York City AIDS Memorial in a campaign to raise awareness of the ongoing fight against AIDS. Each gold, red, black and white condom wrapper features some of Holzer’s signature phrases, such as “PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT,” “EXPIRING FOR LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL BUT STUPID,” and “MEN DON’T PROTECT YOU ANYMORE.” Others are printed with excerpts from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself.

A majority of the proceeds from the sale of URGE AND URGE AND URGE will benefit the New York City AIDS Memorial, which provides a shelter for reflection and remembrance of those lost to AIDS. The proceeds will support educational and cultural programs, as well as the ongoing maintenance of the memorial. To celebrate the launch of the work and honor those lost to AIDS, a truck outfitted with LED screens will display animated texts by Holzer and Walt Whitman as it passes through historically significant sites in New York City today.

“When I first met Jenny she had a Paul Thek book on the table and we spoke about his work,” said Christian Luiten, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Avant Arte. “I hadn’t realized that he, like many other artists, had been lost to AIDS. So when Jenny suggested we collaborate on this edition with the New York City AIDS Memorial, it felt like a good opportunity to share some of those stories and also raise awareness of the ongoing fight against HIV and AIDS to our community.”

URGE AND URGE AND URGE is available in an edition of 25 for €4,400 EUR (approx. $5,000 USD). Join the waiting list now on Avant Arte’s website.

Elsewhere in art, Victor Solomon has transformed a dilapidated basketball court into a striking outdoor work using the traditional Japanese technique of Kintsugi.