We are delighted to be able to include a large-scale installation mixed-media object by the Chinese-American artist Dewey (Dui) Seid in our art collection, an early example of artistic engagement with HIV and AIDS. “Assist” (1989) consists of medical utensils shrink-wrapped in fiberglass, plastic letters and a framed memento. Covering an area of 3 x 3.6 m, the installation forms an acrostic in which the fiberglass letters form the word “Aids” vertically and the beginnings of various words horizontally that were associated with HIV and Aids at the time of its creation. “Assist” is part of a series that Seid called ‘AIDS Words’ and produced in the period from 1989 to 1996; the terms formed vary, here they are: ‘Assist’/ ‘Initiate’/ ‘Donate’ and ‘Support’. The shrink-wrapped medical utensils show signs of use – the visual impression of blood, however, was created using acrylic paint.
Dewey Seid about his series “AIDS Words”: “As a home health care attendant for people during the 1980s AIDS crisis, I realized the underlying aspect for all people was fear, whether those infected or those uninfected. To reflect that fear, I made letters, A, I, D, S, containing medical supplies given to me by Aids patients and doctors. Those medical supplies are encased in fiber glass and using black plastic letters that spell out a particular view point surrounding AIDS. The AIDS Word Series was a series to represent the different view points of people on AIDS, from the religious right that viewed Aids as God’s retribution for being gay, to that of a person with AIDS, to that of persons that helps, etc. The AIDS Word Series traveled to many venues and caused fear that one could get Aids from handling art during installing them. Some wore protective gear. In Germany the ministry of health had to verify that the letters were not contagious, that the semblance of blood was paint. The Words Series was the most controversial of my work. This work is one of several, these words spell out a call to action to help people affected by the disease. Then, AIDS was a death sentence.”
Dewey (formerly “Dui”) Seid was born on March 20, 1945 in Greenville, Mississippi, USA. He graduated from Cooper Union in New York City, returned to New York in 1980 after spending several years in Paris and, after the AIDS-related death of a friend in 1984, became artistically active, but also as a nurse, against the neglect of infected people. Seid’s first solo exhibition took place in 1986 at the SOHO Gallery, New York City. He subsequently took part in several exhibitions in the USA, Canada, Japan and Europe, including at the Folkwang Museum Essen, the Whitney Museum of Art in Champion (USA), the Sagacho Exhibit Space in Tokyo and the Musee d’Art Contemporain in Montreal (Canada).
“Assist” was given to the Schwules Museum by the artist. We would like to thank the art historian and curator Prof. Dr. Michael Fehr, who exhibited the artwork together with others from the “AIDS Words” series at the Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum Hagen in 1997, for arranging the donation.
Photo: Dewey (Dui) Seid, “Assist” (detail). Used medical supplies, fiberglass, framed text, acrylic paint, plastic, approx. 300 x 366 cm. Donated by the artist, archive of the Schwules Museum.