What do you think?
Rate this book
It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic
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.
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.
15 pages, Audiobook
First published April 5, 2022
105 people are currently reading
8359 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
December 15, 2024
I am of the generation that lived through the AIDS crisis. I remember sitting at the annual Human Rights Campaign gala a few years ago, during COVID, when Alexandra Billings was at the podium to say how she had been living with HIV for decades and felt betrayed by the government because it was able to find a COVID vaccine so quickly but did almost nothing to find a vaccine when "the right kind of people" were dying. That struck me like hard. While technology has advanced to allow us to develop a vaccine at the speed it did, I have to agree that even if it had been available in the 80s, I doubt there would've been the interest necessary to do the same for the AIDS pandemic (and yes, it was a pandemic because people were dying of AIDS worldwide). I also have to wonder how much effort is being put into finding a cure, given that the monthly costs for someone without insurance can cost up to $20,000 a month for AIDS, up to $8,00 for HIV meds, and up to $2,000 for AZT PReP - it's pretty lucrative to keep a cure off the market for the pharmaceuticals, after all. AIDS is no longer considered a pandemic, but the cost of health for people with HIV can be so prohibitive that it might as well still be, especially in poorer communities.
Something I hadn't considered was the attitude my generation of gay men have toward gay marriage. I have a few friends who refuse to get married and don't like to talk about why. I wonder if the reasons stated in the book apply to them.
Book was sad and informative, but parts of it dragged on and on for me. I'm glad it was written. It was such important work. So while I think it's worth 3 stars, I'm upgrading to 4 because our world would be extremely different without the work done by the people contained herein.
Something I hadn't considered was the attitude my generation of gay men have toward gay marriage. I have a few friends who refuse to get married and don't like to talk about why. I wonder if the reasons stated in the book apply to them.
Book was sad and informative, but parts of it dragged on and on for me. I'm glad it was written. It was such important work. So while I think it's worth 3 stars, I'm upgrading to 4 because our world would be extremely different without the work done by the people contained herein.
August 2, 2022
i want to get a copy of this book and hold it close to my heart and absorb its knowledge. so many useful thoughts and quotes and pieces of valuable history. deep dives and analysis of work by Gran Fury, its artists, and other collectives adjacent to it, ACT UP, and assorted AIDS activists. i was fully invested all the way through to the point that i did in fact almost cry multiple times (which is a feat for someone 5+ years on T)
May 19, 2022
A comprehensive and engrossing history of ACT UP and its affinity groups, It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful provides an unsparing account of the various efforts activists employed to combat government inaction on AIDS during the height of the epidemic. Jack Lowery skillfully blends research with interviews to craft a book that is sure to become canon in AIDS literature. For readers old enough to remember the dark years when AIDS rampaged through the gay community, this book will open old wounds. For those too young to have lived through it, the book will serve as a portal to the past and inspire an appreciation for the struggles their LGBT forbears endured and the sacrifices they made.
The historical parallels between the AIDS epidemic (circa 1981-1995) and our current cultural moment, in which Americans are faced with COVID-19, Trumpism, and the impending overturn of Roe v. Wade, makes the timing of this book's publication perfect. History may not move in a straight line but it often repeats itself. Although the queer community enjoys more freedom, acceptance, and civil liberties now than it ever has before, anti-LGBT legislation is sweeping across the nation, rousing another call to arms. It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful is an historical document and, to me, an elegy. But more important, it is a playbook modern-day activists can use to rally, resist, and disrupt the systems and individuals who seek to destroy us.
Lowery explores every facet of activists' measures to call out Reagan, Bush, and Clinton for their callousness, lack of funding, and for deliberately spreading homophobia and disinformation to the public (sound familiar?). Lowery's access to members of ACT UP and Gran Fury, many of whom are still alive and thriving in the NYC art scene, allows him to weave together years worth of stories, anecdotes, records, archival footage, and interviews to fashion a book that is simultaneously accessible to all readers yet exhibits his prowess as an historian. He gives this period of Queer American history its due, venerating the contributions and sacrifices the queer community made to defend and honor itself, reform public health, alter public opinion about the disease and its victims, and propel the fight for equality into the twenty-first century.
Though several groups worked to fight the AIDS pandemic, Lowery places particular focus on Gran Fury, a collective of eleven artists who created some of the most powerful, lasting works of protest art in modern history. Anyone with a Silence = Death T-shirt can thank them for it. This group of artists took risks and meticulously collaborated, often contentiously, on the many posters that would become hallmarks of the movement. Of particular interest to readers will be the controversy of their Kissing Doesn't Kill poster. The fearlessness and anger of those individuals cannot be overstated. Some of them were sick with HIV/AIDS, and all of them witnessed friends and lovers die from the disease daily. To think that an entire generation of gay men was nearly wiped out due to a political genocide in America seems unconscionable, nevertheless it was activists like Gran Fury who stepped into the fray and brought about the reforms we see today.
Yet Lowery and his interviewees are quick to point out that balanced with the palpable rage of this era was also tremendous love, and that activists need to muster both fierce rage and boundless love to effectively achieve their aims. Not every poster or instillation was successful but each moved the queer community closer to its reckoning with the federal government, the CDC, and pharmaceutical companies. Lowery leaves no topic off limits, and I'm grateful he took lots of time to discuss the issue of women and Black and Brown men who contracted the disease, going so far as to express that even Gran Fury and ACT UP had to reckon with their own sexism, racism, and class bias in terms of responding to the need to represent these members of the community.
It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful is an appropriate title for an expansive book that exhibits the brutality of individuals who marshal their bigotry and self-interest to exploit and scapegoat afflicted populations in contrast to those who lavish tremendous love and care upon the sick. That our nation still views illness as a moral judgment, and that our public health system continues to falter, is appalling. The gift of history is our ability to look back on the past and learn from it. Art has tremendous value beyond mere aesthetics, and readers will be all the more grateful for it after reading this phenomenal book.
The historical parallels between the AIDS epidemic (circa 1981-1995) and our current cultural moment, in which Americans are faced with COVID-19, Trumpism, and the impending overturn of Roe v. Wade, makes the timing of this book's publication perfect. History may not move in a straight line but it often repeats itself. Although the queer community enjoys more freedom, acceptance, and civil liberties now than it ever has before, anti-LGBT legislation is sweeping across the nation, rousing another call to arms. It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful is an historical document and, to me, an elegy. But more important, it is a playbook modern-day activists can use to rally, resist, and disrupt the systems and individuals who seek to destroy us.
Lowery explores every facet of activists' measures to call out Reagan, Bush, and Clinton for their callousness, lack of funding, and for deliberately spreading homophobia and disinformation to the public (sound familiar?). Lowery's access to members of ACT UP and Gran Fury, many of whom are still alive and thriving in the NYC art scene, allows him to weave together years worth of stories, anecdotes, records, archival footage, and interviews to fashion a book that is simultaneously accessible to all readers yet exhibits his prowess as an historian. He gives this period of Queer American history its due, venerating the contributions and sacrifices the queer community made to defend and honor itself, reform public health, alter public opinion about the disease and its victims, and propel the fight for equality into the twenty-first century.
Though several groups worked to fight the AIDS pandemic, Lowery places particular focus on Gran Fury, a collective of eleven artists who created some of the most powerful, lasting works of protest art in modern history. Anyone with a Silence = Death T-shirt can thank them for it. This group of artists took risks and meticulously collaborated, often contentiously, on the many posters that would become hallmarks of the movement. Of particular interest to readers will be the controversy of their Kissing Doesn't Kill poster. The fearlessness and anger of those individuals cannot be overstated. Some of them were sick with HIV/AIDS, and all of them witnessed friends and lovers die from the disease daily. To think that an entire generation of gay men was nearly wiped out due to a political genocide in America seems unconscionable, nevertheless it was activists like Gran Fury who stepped into the fray and brought about the reforms we see today.
Yet Lowery and his interviewees are quick to point out that balanced with the palpable rage of this era was also tremendous love, and that activists need to muster both fierce rage and boundless love to effectively achieve their aims. Not every poster or instillation was successful but each moved the queer community closer to its reckoning with the federal government, the CDC, and pharmaceutical companies. Lowery leaves no topic off limits, and I'm grateful he took lots of time to discuss the issue of women and Black and Brown men who contracted the disease, going so far as to express that even Gran Fury and ACT UP had to reckon with their own sexism, racism, and class bias in terms of responding to the need to represent these members of the community.
It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful is an appropriate title for an expansive book that exhibits the brutality of individuals who marshal their bigotry and self-interest to exploit and scapegoat afflicted populations in contrast to those who lavish tremendous love and care upon the sick. That our nation still views illness as a moral judgment, and that our public health system continues to falter, is appalling. The gift of history is our ability to look back on the past and learn from it. Art has tremendous value beyond mere aesthetics, and readers will be all the more grateful for it after reading this phenomenal book.
February 8, 2023
As conservative governments across the US have worked to criminalize the act of peacefully protesting, I've become interested in how activist groups historically have used protest to shift perspectives nationwide AND speak to power to change laws and policies. I think that modern protest movements can learn a lot from Act Up and Gran Fury, both in their accomplishments and their failures. Here are some things I was interested to learn:
1.) Your protest will not result in a change in policy unless you are specifically targeting the people and organizations that hold power. In addition, you should have a clear message as to what policy changes you want to see.
2.) The best protest movements are able to do #1 while simultaneously appealing to the public.
3.) A good tagline on an eye-catching poster works. Find a way to distill your message, and make it easy to read!
4.) One idiot acting in bad taste can completely derail an otherwise successful protest.
5.) Getting shit done takes time and dedication. It took Gran Fury and Act Up literally a decade of at least once a week meetings. The members of this organization had complete burnout and PTSD when everything was over, if they survived. You have to be willing to put everything on the line.
6.) At the same time, your cultural moment won't last forever. Be efficient and use your window while you can, because eventually you won't be making headlines anymore.
7.) Efficiency requires a certain amount of exclusivity. Of course you want as many people involved as possible, but some of them need to be the worker bees while others make the decisions.
As I type, I feel like all of this is pretty basic, but when I think about the most sustained protest I've engaged in, we definitely lacked some of those fundamental components. I think I'm the age of social media many of us think that fighting for our rights should be as easy as reading a book or writing a tweet, but it's not. If we want things to change, it's going to take a lot more than that.
In other news, this book was super niche and focused mostly on biography, but I found it to be surprisingly readable. I was engaged the entire time and I didn't want to put it down.
1.) Your protest will not result in a change in policy unless you are specifically targeting the people and organizations that hold power. In addition, you should have a clear message as to what policy changes you want to see.
2.) The best protest movements are able to do #1 while simultaneously appealing to the public.
3.) A good tagline on an eye-catching poster works. Find a way to distill your message, and make it easy to read!
4.) One idiot acting in bad taste can completely derail an otherwise successful protest.
5.) Getting shit done takes time and dedication. It took Gran Fury and Act Up literally a decade of at least once a week meetings. The members of this organization had complete burnout and PTSD when everything was over, if they survived. You have to be willing to put everything on the line.
6.) At the same time, your cultural moment won't last forever. Be efficient and use your window while you can, because eventually you won't be making headlines anymore.
7.) Efficiency requires a certain amount of exclusivity. Of course you want as many people involved as possible, but some of them need to be the worker bees while others make the decisions.
As I type, I feel like all of this is pretty basic, but when I think about the most sustained protest I've engaged in, we definitely lacked some of those fundamental components. I think I'm the age of social media many of us think that fighting for our rights should be as easy as reading a book or writing a tweet, but it's not. If we want things to change, it's going to take a lot more than that.
In other news, this book was super niche and focused mostly on biography, but I found it to be surprisingly readable. I was engaged the entire time and I didn't want to put it down.
June 19, 2024
this is such a special book and it took me completely by surprised. i picked it up expecting it to be a laborious read about the AIDS crisis, and in the end it turned out to be a moving collection of memories and art pieces and interview snippets about friendship, queerness, grief, art, and activism. while it touched on a lot of history i never knew about it, it wasn't necessarily a historic rundown of AIDS specifically. this book focuses on gran fury specifically, and in turn a little bit of ACT UP NY during the heat of the epidemic. i loved that it explores specific posters/campaigns because as i was reading i could look up the art and really dive into how the pieces looked and felt. i never really learned a lot about the AIDS crisis because i was born in 95 and by the time i hit elementary school a lot of the worst of it was over for white people, so it felt like ancient history, especially since i didn't see queer spaces or people until i was in high school and college. since i didn't step into my queerness until my twenties, i feel like i've spent most of my time trying to understand what queerness is and how it manifests in me rather than learning about the queer history and culture of the past. but this felt like a perfect preface to such a horrible time period, and it taught me a lot without really doing too much. more than anything, it made me feel connected to both my queerness and the queer people who came before me, and it just...made me bawl. like yes, obviously the AIDS crisis is horrible, but reading about the lives of these artists who took so many risks to advocate for change, it's so powerful. not to mention a lot of this is reminiscent of other movements and other issues. and the parallels you can draw between AIDS and COVID are just...staggering. it's crazy to me that i was born around the time a lot of these activists were dying, that my parents were teenagers when the epidemic started. even crazier to think that the epidemic really isn't over yet AND WHO KNEW THAT! why aren't we talking about that! insane how many crises are still running rampant and we have to just like...keep going.
anyway. should be required reading especially for queer artists. incredible.
anyway. should be required reading especially for queer artists. incredible.
October 1, 2023
really incredible in its scope. holds both the political factors as well as the interpersonal ones as vital and weighty. its ability to create context—within US politics, within ACT UP, within a friend group—helps the whole thing cohere magnificently.
it’s difficult to conceptualize activism like this. the fact that anything—an apartment, a babysitter—could be found on a telephone pole, so the flyers went there too… what’s the contemporary equivalent? facebook marketplace? it’s also notable that the virus epicenter was also the epicenter of where america got its news (new york city). a perfect storm.
the book opens with offering gran fury’s activism as a template for other movements, with one suggestion being climate change. given the above i find that hard to imagine, but i want it desperately. and i almost want to point it in another direction, that of trans activism. good god, we could stand to have a few shifts of perception in that conversation. what does one do? start writing GENDER PLAY IS HEALTHY AND GOOD on the walls? nonetheless. it’s an awesome book.
it’s difficult to conceptualize activism like this. the fact that anything—an apartment, a babysitter—could be found on a telephone pole, so the flyers went there too… what’s the contemporary equivalent? facebook marketplace? it’s also notable that the virus epicenter was also the epicenter of where america got its news (new york city). a perfect storm.
the book opens with offering gran fury’s activism as a template for other movements, with one suggestion being climate change. given the above i find that hard to imagine, but i want it desperately. and i almost want to point it in another direction, that of trans activism. good god, we could stand to have a few shifts of perception in that conversation. what does one do? start writing GENDER PLAY IS HEALTHY AND GOOD on the walls? nonetheless. it’s an awesome book.
August 6, 2022
An oddly dull, overlong read about something very interesting, especially with a title like this! The back half moves more quickly and more elegantly than the first half, which is curious, given that the early years of Gran Fury and the emergence of the activist art-propaganda movement are so fascinating. (Love this quote, from Loring McAlpin: "If you're angry enough and have a Xerox machine and five or six friends who feel the same way, you'd be surprised how far you can go with that.") The author has diligently done his research and his commitment to leaving an accurate account for history is clear. You'll certainly learn a lot about how activism and art work together. The writing gets bogged down, however; it's one of those books full of passages where one sentence could have done the job of the following four.
August 15, 2024
Really great and informational book about the interaction between/power of art and activism together. Jack Lowery details the work of ACT UP and Gran Fury, two AIDS activist groups whose work cannot be overstated. Even if you don’t think you’re too familiar with AIDS activism, you’ve almost certainly seen their work. It was fascinating to learn how images and sloganeering provided cohesion amongst the movement and aided in the transformation of consciousness for their audience.
The audiobook, read by Vikas Adam, is emphatically narrated, capturing the desperation and tenacity of the activists at the time. Just listening made my throat tight, and I forever mourn this unimaginable loss to our community (and that the crisis still persists) but to detail and commemorate the work of these groups and the tremendous impact their work held is really special.
Born out of desperation from neglect and exploitation, these communities came together to beg and fight for their lives through the use of art, imagery, slogans, performance and demonstrations as they were left to suffer and die by their government, the public, corporations, and greedy pharmaceutical companies. The sheer power of their art was instrumental in recruiting members, educating the public, and pressuring those in power to act.
Lowery doesn’t just focus on what the activists of ACT UP and Gran Fury did, but who they are, as well. They’re such fierce, headstrong groups that are commemorated. It’s moving, inspiring, infuriating, and it was a privilege to read.
The audiobook, read by Vikas Adam, is emphatically narrated, capturing the desperation and tenacity of the activists at the time. Just listening made my throat tight, and I forever mourn this unimaginable loss to our community (and that the crisis still persists) but to detail and commemorate the work of these groups and the tremendous impact their work held is really special.
Born out of desperation from neglect and exploitation, these communities came together to beg and fight for their lives through the use of art, imagery, slogans, performance and demonstrations as they were left to suffer and die by their government, the public, corporations, and greedy pharmaceutical companies. The sheer power of their art was instrumental in recruiting members, educating the public, and pressuring those in power to act.
Lowery doesn’t just focus on what the activists of ACT UP and Gran Fury did, but who they are, as well. They’re such fierce, headstrong groups that are commemorated. It’s moving, inspiring, infuriating, and it was a privilege to read.
December 4, 2024
I recently finished How to Survive a Plague, which I highly recommend, and it’s given a lot of context to this already. Definitely glad to have read that first, though not required. While I liked the other book better, this one is focused on more of the art side and has some details the other book left out. 4.2 stars, mostly because it wasn’t as good as the other book I read and it’s hard not to compare the two.
January 24, 2025
This well written and meticulously chronicled non- fiction book was well worth reading.
Addressing two major themes of the 1980’s AIDS crisis: First, the politics of a government and nation unwilling to step up to care for the dead and dying of its nation.
Secondly, the activists, especially artists, who worked endlessly to focus the public eye on AIDS as a crisis to be met head-on with compassion, health care and research.
I cannot put enough emphasis on the importance of this book’s message for our nation today. It demonstrates the mighty effect of continuing to challenge the public through protest using the arts and media.
A unique focused history offering a road map for continued political informed protest.
Addressing two major themes of the 1980’s AIDS crisis: First, the politics of a government and nation unwilling to step up to care for the dead and dying of its nation.
Secondly, the activists, especially artists, who worked endlessly to focus the public eye on AIDS as a crisis to be met head-on with compassion, health care and research.
I cannot put enough emphasis on the importance of this book’s message for our nation today. It demonstrates the mighty effect of continuing to challenge the public through protest using the arts and media.
A unique focused history offering a road map for continued political informed protest.
June 23, 2023
finally got around to reviewing this after sitting with it. took me quite literally forever to get through but honestly i don’t think i could’ve read it any other way. such an important insight into the people behind symbols and movements that defined the queer community for so long. they are trailblazers and revolutionaries, but mostly they’re just people who loved each other and their community so fiercely that the only real option was to do something about the inaction. i feel, in quite a weird way, honored to get to read some of, if not the most, vulnerable, raw, human moments from their lives. i admire them and grieve them and appreciate them so deeply, and that was only really possible through this book. read it for the org, read it for the story, read it for the history, read it for the people, just read it.
March 21, 2024
“‘AIDS isn’t over for anybody until it’s over for everybody.’”
What a great book. Very informational and educational while being easy to read and follow. Most of the story is told through interviews with people from the group, making it read like a novel in a way. There are parts of this book that, as you can imagine, are so deeply painful to read.
Definitely one of my favorite books, especially one of my favorite non-fiction books.
What a great book. Very informational and educational while being easy to read and follow. Most of the story is told through interviews with people from the group, making it read like a novel in a way. There are parts of this book that, as you can imagine, are so deeply painful to read.
Definitely one of my favorite books, especially one of my favorite non-fiction books.
December 7, 2022
5/5!!!
maybe the most special book i’ve read this year, telling the story of gran fury, an art collective founded in the chaos of the beginning of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. jack lowery does something intensely meaningful: relating gran fury’s legacy while still portraying its art as collective and charged, a set of living things that still have things to do and say.
lowery’s tone, rhythm, and precision are impeccable, but such an emotionally raw story like the one of gran fury practically stands on its own. lowery, like the ACT UP activists he interviewed, is punchy and biting. after all, the stories he relates are in their truest sense about life and death — there’s hardly any time for wasted sentimentality. yet i audibly laughed and cried while reading “it was vulgar and it was beautiful,” emotions that, just like gran fury’s products, did not passively exist, but rather, inspired action.
maybe the most special book i’ve read this year, telling the story of gran fury, an art collective founded in the chaos of the beginning of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. jack lowery does something intensely meaningful: relating gran fury’s legacy while still portraying its art as collective and charged, a set of living things that still have things to do and say.
lowery’s tone, rhythm, and precision are impeccable, but such an emotionally raw story like the one of gran fury practically stands on its own. lowery, like the ACT UP activists he interviewed, is punchy and biting. after all, the stories he relates are in their truest sense about life and death — there’s hardly any time for wasted sentimentality. yet i audibly laughed and cried while reading “it was vulgar and it was beautiful,” emotions that, just like gran fury’s products, did not passively exist, but rather, inspired action.
Read
February 11, 2025I picked up this book expecting to be inspired by the way AIDS activists used art to fight a pandemic, but instead I closed the book feeling exhausted. Primarily this was due to the relentless stories of young men - or their friends and colleagues and loved ones - dying far too soon, and painfully, and alone, and ostracized. I was struck by one activist saying that he had to do something after he attended his 100th funeral. I thought I'd properly learned about AIDS, but after encountering story after story of people witnessing so much death and fearing it for themselves, I can understand why people who survived that time have a hard time engaging with it now.
Also, while Gran Fury and other activist organizations did create culture-shifting works of public art, the book focused more on how much this art almost didn't happen - in-fighting, variable membership, sickness, and death. While it wasn't what was I was looking for, I still learned a lot.
Also, while Gran Fury and other activist organizations did create culture-shifting works of public art, the book focused more on how much this art almost didn't happen - in-fighting, variable membership, sickness, and death. While it wasn't what was I was looking for, I still learned a lot.
August 31, 2022
This was informative, heartbreaking, and just overall such an impactful and amazing read. It was put together and written so well. I learned so much about the AIDS pandemic and I loved reading about the passion that Gran Fury had and I was invested in their art and demonstrations. I sympathize now more than I ever did with the people who suffered, and still suffer living with AIDS. The emotionally taxing job it must be to have to live during that time watching your loved ones die in quick succession. I have no clue how that feels and I hope I never have to experience that. I loved this book and I only have a few words to truly sum it up. It was vulgar and it was beautiful.
December 19, 2022
With the current wave of anti LGBTQIA+ rhetoric, I find myself wanting a militant, disruptive group that will stage actions against those pandering hate. So I find myself reading more and more about ACT UP and the bravery of its members.
This book focuses on the artwork--both the hits and the misses--and the personalities behind them.
This book focuses on the artwork--both the hits and the misses--and the personalities behind them.
February 9, 2025
I think this book is by far one of my favorite books I have read. I learned so much about the aids epidemic along with the thought process behind every art piece and post grand fury made . I also think younger folks need to adopt this form of activism now with the new trump administration . I do love that the book highlights this, as the Black Lives Matter movement used similar tactics to grand fury . This book was inspirational , sad and empowering . I hope the member of grand fury are at peace and I strongly recommend all my friends to read this .
January 10, 2024
Stunning in scope. So difficult to be this comprehensive and never lose context
December 24, 2024
every time I think too hard about the state of public health in this country I want to fucking scream. where would we be without dedicated artist-activists?
July 30, 2022
a really favorite book’ I’ll read it again. So inspiring and affirming re what the right words—few as possible, readable at 30 mph and 30 ft—can do. Sad towatds the end when the aids deaths starT to stack up again, but hang on, the end is affirming and true. Really a great book and history
December 10, 2024
I was worried this would be a bad pick for a hypochondriac. I did at multiple points wonder if I have hiv. For this I am very sorry.
Detailed, moving, not overly intellectual or inaccessible, interesting, human. I won’t remember all the names and dates and stuff but I will remember the image of a crowd of people marching to the White House carrying an open casket, umbrellas crowded above it so the body wouldn’t get wet. Wow. Thank you New York public library because I also watched the video of mark fischer’s political funeral. Pretty eerie to hear the marchers chanting “George bush you can’t hide we charge you with genocide” …. How far we have to go
Detailed, moving, not overly intellectual or inaccessible, interesting, human. I won’t remember all the names and dates and stuff but I will remember the image of a crowd of people marching to the White House carrying an open casket, umbrellas crowded above it so the body wouldn’t get wet. Wow. Thank you New York public library because I also watched the video of mark fischer’s political funeral. Pretty eerie to hear the marchers chanting “George bush you can’t hide we charge you with genocide” …. How far we have to go
July 22, 2022
Bold, emphatic, and resourceful are the words I'd use to describe Lowery's It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful. Much like the NYC art movement that trickled outward and westward, this book is simultaneously a love letter to the men who struggled and worked and succeeded amid the Reagan administration as well as a resource for future historians who want to hear directly from these men in their own words.
Up front, I will be honest in saying this is unlike any other nonfiction book I've read, in that the resource/bibliography consists almost entirely of one-on-one conversations/interviews Lowery performed with the key players in ACT UP and Gran Fury's movements. My academic self finds concern, as there aren't really any additional resources listed to corroborate these interviews, but my who-defines-knowledge self finds only intrigue--after all, who's to say that just because it hasn't been recorded before or corroborated with secondary sources means the information is invalid?
I loved the formatting of the book as well, in addition to the inclusion of the (sometimes sexually graphic) graphic designs. It's an inspiring book, and one that left me longing for a different version of New York City while being thankful that we've come as far as we have.
Up front, I will be honest in saying this is unlike any other nonfiction book I've read, in that the resource/bibliography consists almost entirely of one-on-one conversations/interviews Lowery performed with the key players in ACT UP and Gran Fury's movements. My academic self finds concern, as there aren't really any additional resources listed to corroborate these interviews, but my who-defines-knowledge self finds only intrigue--after all, who's to say that just because it hasn't been recorded before or corroborated with secondary sources means the information is invalid?
I loved the formatting of the book as well, in addition to the inclusion of the (sometimes sexually graphic) graphic designs. It's an inspiring book, and one that left me longing for a different version of New York City while being thankful that we've come as far as we have.
June 25, 2022
Since discovering my interest in the history of the AIDS epidemic during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been on the hunt for fresh reading material. A friend recommended this book to me, which specifically focuses on AIDS activism and the use of art as a medium for that activism. This book was refreshing because it not only honored what worked, but it also showcased the failures. As a present day activist, I learned a lot of lessons about how to engage effectively. I also learned new information about the AIDS epidemic and its impact on women, which was fascinating yet infuriating.
I was impressed by the author's ability to weave such a detailed story out of relatively scant primary source materials. However, the book was a bit all over the place at times and could have used better editing. I persisted because of the depth of my interest in the topic, but I fear that someone new to the subject may have trouble following the narrative.
I was impressed by the author's ability to weave such a detailed story out of relatively scant primary source materials. However, the book was a bit all over the place at times and could have used better editing. I persisted because of the depth of my interest in the topic, but I fear that someone new to the subject may have trouble following the narrative.
March 31, 2022
A fascinating and important story, and a good entry point for a lot of other reading and research into the AIDs crisis, ACT UP, and Gran Fury. A thorough but very engaging read—I finished it in record time for non-fiction, which I usually struggle to get through.
April 7, 2025
This is such an important read for those in the queer community and allies. This book comprehensively breaks down how the artist collective Gran Fury (and many others) used advertisements, protests, etc. to speak out against an ambivalent government. It goes through the lives of several Gran Fury/ACT UP members and how the crisis affected them personally, their own contributions, and the creation process for some of their works.
This book was simple to follow, yet extremely dense with information. There were some parts that felt a little dragging (mostly extraneous info about Gran Fury’s members), but I believe it is worth picking up if you want to know all the intricacies behind the movement’s art.
Some of Jack Lowery’s best writing comes from the reflection on the epidemic and how many activists today draw inspiration from Gran Fury’s work. He interviewed director and activist Maria Maggenti, who stated, “I’ve tried to get involved with different movements since 2016… And I wonder why these things don’t gel. And then I realize it’s because nobody is falling in love with each other. Nobody is going out to bars afterwards. We don’t all live in the same neighborhood. And these are the things that really kept ACT UP together. ACT UP was founded on profound friendships. The glue was that people deeply, deeply loved each other.”
That really opened my eyes to the importance of community in protest— not just being a part of a community, but knowing and loving the person next to you. The book describes heart-wrenching scenes of gay men dying of AIDS and those that had to take care of them. That shared trauma is what fueled ACT UP to be as persistent as they were; they protested for YEARS until they eventually dwindled away.
While I’m not saying that these things DON’T and CAN’T happen today, protests do not seem to have the same longevity and impact as they once did. Participation in protests seems to now be reliant on how widely the message is spread on social media rather than the organization of neighborhoods. Artist collectives and activist groups find difficulty organizing because WE ARE SO ISOLATED! We are more connected than ever bc of social media, but our sense of community has dwindled exponentially. It’s common to be in a sea of protestors and not know a single one. There is a real fear that protests might turn violent because of trolls that heard about the protests and want to wreak havoc (therefore causing an innate distrust of those around you). While your message can reach more people using social media, it is not guaranteed that people that go to this week’s protest will attend next week’s. People want instant gratification, so they might quickly burn out from protesting. This is not me complaining— it’s more just thinking about how protest has evolved to be more inclusive, yet so individualistic. How American.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to know more about how AIDS activism and does not mind a dense read. The audiobook was also lovely to listen to when I did not feel like picking up my book!
This book was simple to follow, yet extremely dense with information. There were some parts that felt a little dragging (mostly extraneous info about Gran Fury’s members), but I believe it is worth picking up if you want to know all the intricacies behind the movement’s art.
Some of Jack Lowery’s best writing comes from the reflection on the epidemic and how many activists today draw inspiration from Gran Fury’s work. He interviewed director and activist Maria Maggenti, who stated, “I’ve tried to get involved with different movements since 2016… And I wonder why these things don’t gel. And then I realize it’s because nobody is falling in love with each other. Nobody is going out to bars afterwards. We don’t all live in the same neighborhood. And these are the things that really kept ACT UP together. ACT UP was founded on profound friendships. The glue was that people deeply, deeply loved each other.”
That really opened my eyes to the importance of community in protest— not just being a part of a community, but knowing and loving the person next to you. The book describes heart-wrenching scenes of gay men dying of AIDS and those that had to take care of them. That shared trauma is what fueled ACT UP to be as persistent as they were; they protested for YEARS until they eventually dwindled away.
While I’m not saying that these things DON’T and CAN’T happen today, protests do not seem to have the same longevity and impact as they once did. Participation in protests seems to now be reliant on how widely the message is spread on social media rather than the organization of neighborhoods. Artist collectives and activist groups find difficulty organizing because WE ARE SO ISOLATED! We are more connected than ever bc of social media, but our sense of community has dwindled exponentially. It’s common to be in a sea of protestors and not know a single one. There is a real fear that protests might turn violent because of trolls that heard about the protests and want to wreak havoc (therefore causing an innate distrust of those around you). While your message can reach more people using social media, it is not guaranteed that people that go to this week’s protest will attend next week’s. People want instant gratification, so they might quickly burn out from protesting. This is not me complaining— it’s more just thinking about how protest has evolved to be more inclusive, yet so individualistic. How American.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to know more about how AIDS activism and does not mind a dense read. The audiobook was also lovely to listen to when I did not feel like picking up my book!
August 20, 2024
"AIDS isn't over for anybody until it's over for everybody."
Lowery's It was Vulgar & It was Beautiful is a masterclass in research and writing regarding the AIDS epidemic. He weaves countless interviews and pieces of archived information to truly delve into the way in which ACT UP managed to implement artwork to help fight against a pandemic and the government policies and figures that were doing nothing to help.
The most noteworthy element of Lowery's research was his decision to so heavily focus on Gran Fury, an affinity group within ACT UP that played a key part in their use of art and advertising to raise awareness and bring about a sense of change. He not only interviewed the surviving members of this collective, but he also told their life stories and backgrounds in a way that allowed the reader a glimpse beyond the magnitude of their activism to the humanity and livelihoods of the people who lived through this epidemic and continuously put their lives on the line in order to make a difference. Even when Lowery focused on different affinity groups, such as the Marys, the reader is given a look in on the group dynamics and lives that solidifies all of the research into a human story of love, suffering, and friendship.
From discussing the involved, and frequently argumentative, meetings of Gran Fury that led to famous slogans such as "All People with AIDS Are Innocent" and "Women Don't Get AIDS, They Just Die From It" to demonstrations that led to ashes being spread across the White House lawn, Lowery attempts to cover so many different key elements of ACT UP's successes and failures while also telling the individual stories of these activists who were irrevocably affected by this time in their lives.
There are so many stories shared in these pages, so many lives lived and lost, and so much more still to read and study in order to even grasp a slight understanding of the pain and suffering that went on during this dark period of human history. And there is still work to be done.
The AIDS activist and member of the Marys, Joy Episalla said "We are the witnesses. We are what's left. We got to live. They died. So I always feel like I have the responsibility of living for them too." And she's right.
It was Vulgar & It was Beautiful is a remarkable piece of documented history that is such an important work for everyone to read. I feel as though there is an overwhelming importance in reading the words and witnessing the artworks created by people that were in the middle of queer history in order to honor them and to continue their hard work in a world that still needs activism and demonstrations in order to progress.
Silence=Death
Lowery's It was Vulgar & It was Beautiful is a masterclass in research and writing regarding the AIDS epidemic. He weaves countless interviews and pieces of archived information to truly delve into the way in which ACT UP managed to implement artwork to help fight against a pandemic and the government policies and figures that were doing nothing to help.
The most noteworthy element of Lowery's research was his decision to so heavily focus on Gran Fury, an affinity group within ACT UP that played a key part in their use of art and advertising to raise awareness and bring about a sense of change. He not only interviewed the surviving members of this collective, but he also told their life stories and backgrounds in a way that allowed the reader a glimpse beyond the magnitude of their activism to the humanity and livelihoods of the people who lived through this epidemic and continuously put their lives on the line in order to make a difference. Even when Lowery focused on different affinity groups, such as the Marys, the reader is given a look in on the group dynamics and lives that solidifies all of the research into a human story of love, suffering, and friendship.
From discussing the involved, and frequently argumentative, meetings of Gran Fury that led to famous slogans such as "All People with AIDS Are Innocent" and "Women Don't Get AIDS, They Just Die From It" to demonstrations that led to ashes being spread across the White House lawn, Lowery attempts to cover so many different key elements of ACT UP's successes and failures while also telling the individual stories of these activists who were irrevocably affected by this time in their lives.
There are so many stories shared in these pages, so many lives lived and lost, and so much more still to read and study in order to even grasp a slight understanding of the pain and suffering that went on during this dark period of human history. And there is still work to be done.
The AIDS activist and member of the Marys, Joy Episalla said "We are the witnesses. We are what's left. We got to live. They died. So I always feel like I have the responsibility of living for them too." And she's right.
It was Vulgar & It was Beautiful is a remarkable piece of documented history that is such an important work for everyone to read. I feel as though there is an overwhelming importance in reading the words and witnessing the artworks created by people that were in the middle of queer history in order to honor them and to continue their hard work in a world that still needs activism and demonstrations in order to progress.
Silence=Death
March 13, 2025
4.5 rounded up
We’re experiencing so much more iconography promoting the myth of American exceptionalism lately. But for me, something that will always cut to the heart of that lie is evaluating the U.S. government’s indifference to the AIDS epidemic.
This book was a detailed retrospective on how ACT UP, Gran Fury, and countless other activist groups used art & collective action to demand attention. All they wanted really was for anyone to say their lives mattered enough to try saving them. This is a part of our queer American history that I don’t think any of us belonging to this community should forget.
What sticks with me is one of Gran Fury’s earlier posters that reads: “when a government turns its back on its people, is it civil war?”
The reason this book — and a lot of the nonfiction I’ve been reading lately — resonates with me is because I’ve been seeking something grounding amidst the political train wrecks outside. I’m going to take my oath as a citizen in 6 days and I have no idea if this country really even wants me here… if, because I get to be American, that means I will be protected now.
I find myself motivated to read and reflect with more urgency than I’ve ever had before with nonfiction. There are so many stories that need to be remembered, and there’s so much to learn from how these artists used art to fight for their lives. I wish they didn’t have to. I wish we didn’t, either. But we’re still fighting.
-0.5 =
The only thing I maybe would have changed was having more photos of the art being referenced & more reminders — maybe even a section each chapter — of who is who because there are so many players that it’s easy to lose track.
We’re experiencing so much more iconography promoting the myth of American exceptionalism lately. But for me, something that will always cut to the heart of that lie is evaluating the U.S. government’s indifference to the AIDS epidemic.
This book was a detailed retrospective on how ACT UP, Gran Fury, and countless other activist groups used art & collective action to demand attention. All they wanted really was for anyone to say their lives mattered enough to try saving them. This is a part of our queer American history that I don’t think any of us belonging to this community should forget.
What sticks with me is one of Gran Fury’s earlier posters that reads: “when a government turns its back on its people, is it civil war?”
The reason this book — and a lot of the nonfiction I’ve been reading lately — resonates with me is because I’ve been seeking something grounding amidst the political train wrecks outside. I’m going to take my oath as a citizen in 6 days and I have no idea if this country really even wants me here… if, because I get to be American, that means I will be protected now.
I find myself motivated to read and reflect with more urgency than I’ve ever had before with nonfiction. There are so many stories that need to be remembered, and there’s so much to learn from how these artists used art to fight for their lives. I wish they didn’t have to. I wish we didn’t, either. But we’re still fighting.
-0.5 =
The only thing I maybe would have changed was having more photos of the art being referenced & more reminders — maybe even a section each chapter — of who is who because there are so many players that it’s easy to lose track.
July 20, 2022
This is a history of public art (mainly posters with some window displays and performance pieces) used to fight AIDS, with most of the work done by a subgroup of ACT UP New York called Gran Fury, although the piece I was most familiar with, SILENCE = DEATH, predates that collective.
It's a detailed history with a strong focus on the personal stories of the primary creators in Gran Fury. So, for example, once Lowery focuses on an artist, you get a lot about their connections with ACT UP, their identity as HIV-negative or -positive, and the community around them. There's also a lot I learned about ACT UP in general, especially with regards to their work on redefining the AIDS definition for women (a famous Gran Fury poster states "Women Don't Get AIDS; They Just Die From It") and the use of political funerals in the early 90's.
What I appreciated most about the writing is how Lowery described how the needs of the gay community in New York drove the creation of Gran Fury's pieces. There's a piece at the end where Lowery visits Gran Fury posters hanging in galleries, and it's a sad moment --- you can't understand the art without the context around it, especially when the context includes thousands of deaths and the anger than drove ACT UP. In some sense, the pieces only work as posters in marches, images pasted up at construction sites, or advertisements at bus stops; without the public nature of the work and its insistence on changing public policy, the images lose their meaning.
Lowery every now and again discusses the very argumentative Gran Fury meetings, and I wish there was more of that content in the book. Very early on in the introduction, Lowery commits to a less philosophical and more illustrative approach, and yet he describes the collective arguing about fonts and statements and images, and I wanted to see more of that personal philosophy expressed by the Gran Fury members. I also got lost in the very large cast of characters from time to time.
Highly recommended if you have interest in the civic and propaganda uses of public art.
It's a detailed history with a strong focus on the personal stories of the primary creators in Gran Fury. So, for example, once Lowery focuses on an artist, you get a lot about their connections with ACT UP, their identity as HIV-negative or -positive, and the community around them. There's also a lot I learned about ACT UP in general, especially with regards to their work on redefining the AIDS definition for women (a famous Gran Fury poster states "Women Don't Get AIDS; They Just Die From It") and the use of political funerals in the early 90's.
What I appreciated most about the writing is how Lowery described how the needs of the gay community in New York drove the creation of Gran Fury's pieces. There's a piece at the end where Lowery visits Gran Fury posters hanging in galleries, and it's a sad moment --- you can't understand the art without the context around it, especially when the context includes thousands of deaths and the anger than drove ACT UP. In some sense, the pieces only work as posters in marches, images pasted up at construction sites, or advertisements at bus stops; without the public nature of the work and its insistence on changing public policy, the images lose their meaning.
Lowery every now and again discusses the very argumentative Gran Fury meetings, and I wish there was more of that content in the book. Very early on in the introduction, Lowery commits to a less philosophical and more illustrative approach, and yet he describes the collective arguing about fonts and statements and images, and I wanted to see more of that personal philosophy expressed by the Gran Fury members. I also got lost in the very large cast of characters from time to time.
Highly recommended if you have interest in the civic and propaganda uses of public art.
February 15, 2023
I've read a lot about ACT UP in recent years, so some of my feelings about this book are definitely colored by that. I knew I would likely come across a lot of content I was already familiar with, but I hoped the specific focus on Gran Fury would bring enough new stuff to override that. I studied communication in college, and art as a tool for protest is a definite area of interest. Overall, though, I don't think Gran Fury can be understood without the context of ACT UP, and this book provides that, but other books have provided it before and better (for me). The Gran Fury information is interesting, and I loved seeing the art and hearing about the discussions surrounding it, but that was a relatively small part of the book. The writing style also put me off a bit. It felt at times like an especially well-written piece for an academic setting or like a professor's lecture. That's not necessarily bad (and I did see that the author is a professor), but it didn't result in something that kept me as engaged as other books on similar topics have.
February 6, 2023
It’s going to be hard for any book I read in 2023 to top this one.
Jack Lowery does such a great job of chronicling the timeline of two key activist groups during the height of the AIDS crisis, ACT UP and Grand Fury. This book is full of so much research and really gives you the full scope of these two organizations and how they worked together. Lowery not only provides the history of these organizations. He outlines the effectiveness of Grand Fury’s work, both at the time of creation and longterm.
This is one of those books that I think every single person should read. Following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, so much of the activism and backlash discussed in this book feels so near.
Jack Lowery does such a great job of chronicling the timeline of two key activist groups during the height of the AIDS crisis, ACT UP and Grand Fury. This book is full of so much research and really gives you the full scope of these two organizations and how they worked together. Lowery not only provides the history of these organizations. He outlines the effectiveness of Grand Fury’s work, both at the time of creation and longterm.
This is one of those books that I think every single person should read. Following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, so much of the activism and backlash discussed in this book feels so near.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews