Aids art & activism.

Adam Donaldson Powell (born in 1954 in Buffalo, USA) has been a professional visual artist (since 1995) and author (since 1987). He has published several books, in the USA, Norway and India, as well as several short works in international literary magazines. He has, in addition, written works for the theater performed on stage in Norway. Adam often combines his interest in social and world politics with his art. As an aids activist Powell has had much focus upon issues related to the rights of and questions concerning life quality for persons with hiv/aids. Since the 1990's, he has been very active in many debates regarding hiv/aids -- both in Norway and internationally, including many appearances on television, radio, in newspapers and magazines, at the UN and international aids conferences etc. Powell established and arranged art exhibitions in connection with World Aids Day in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2001. He has also run a project entitled "Art at public workplaces" for many years. In that regard Powell has given several of his works of art in donation to public and idealistic institutions/organizations that have shown significant social engagement on behalf of persons with hiv/aids and persons with chronic illnesses, but which do not have a large budget for the purchase of art or decorations. In 2008 it was Rikshospitalet and LLH (the Norwegian organization for gay men and women) that received paintings by Powell (at Positive Art's World Aids Day 2008 exhibition). Powell's books are sold all over the world, and many of them can be found in the collections of the Norwegian National Library and Archives and the Deichmanske Public Library (main branch). His literary works have been translated into many languages, including Spanish, English, Russian, Japanese, Bengali, French etc. Adam Donaldson Powell has also written much about hiv/aids in his books. His books include: Gaytude (2009), 2014: the life and adventures of an incarnated angel (2008), Critical Essays (2008), Le Paradis (2008), Rapture: endings of space and time (2007), Three-legged Waltz (2006), Collected poems and stories (2005), Arcana and other archetypes (2001), and Notes of a Madman (1987). Powell writes in English, Norwegian, Spanish and French. He has been a guest author with appearances in New York City, Oslo, Buenos Aires and Kathmandu. Adam is also internationally known as a reviewer of books (literature and art photography books) and as a writer of essays on literature and art.

Adam Donaldson Powell (født 1954 i Buffalo, USA) er profesjonell billedkunstner (siden 1995) og forfatter (siden 1987). Han har gitt ut flere bøker, henholdsvis i USA, Norge og India, så vel som flere korte arbeider i internasjonale skjønnlitteræreblader. Han har i tillegg skrevet teaterstykker oppført på scene i Norge. Adam kombinerer gjerne hans interesse for samfunns-/verdenspolitikk med kunst. Som aidsaktivist har Powell hatt stor fokus på mange spørsmål tilknyttet rettigheter og livskvalitet for hivpositive. Han har siden 1990-tallene vært svært aktiv i mange debatter om hiv/aids -- både i Norge og internasjonalt, inkludert mange opptreden på fjernsyn, radio, aviser og blader, på FN og internasjonale aidskonferanser osv. Powell etablerte og arrangerte kunstutstillinger i forbindelse med Verdens AIDS-dag i 1995, 1996, 1997 og 2001. Har har også drevet prosjektet "Kunst på offentlige arbeidsplasser" i mange år. I den sammenheng har Powell gitt bort egne kunstverk som donasjoner til offentlige og ideelle institusjoner/organisasjoner som gjør en betydelig samfunnsinnsats overfor hiv-positive og kronisk syke, men som ikke har et stort budsjett til innkjøp av kunst eller utsmykking. I 2008 var det Rikshospitalet og LLH som fikk malerier (på Positive Arts verdens aids dag 2008 utstilling). Powells bøker selges over hele verden, og mange finnes i samlingene til Nasjonalbiblioteket og Deichmanske hovedbibliotek. Hans arbeider er blitt oversatt til mange språk, inkludert spansk, engelsk, russisk, japansk, bengali, fransk osv. Adam Donaldson Powell har også skrevet en del om hiv/aids i sine bøker. Hans bøker inkluderer: Gaytude (2009), 2014: the life and adventures of an incarnated angel (2008), Critical Essays (2008), Le Paradis (2008), Rapture: endings of space and time (2007), Three-legged Waltz (2006), Collected poems and stories (2005), Arcana and other archetypes (2001) og Notes of a Madman (1987). Powell skriver på engelsk, norsk, spansk og fransk. Han har vært gjesteforfatter med opptreden i New York City, Oslo, Buenos Aires og Kathmandu. Adam er også internasjonalt kjent som bokanmelder (skjønnlitteratur og kunstfotobøker) og som forfatter av essayer om litteratur og kunst.

Adam has participated in the Positive Art exhibitions in Oslo. See their webpages: Positive Art

AIDS .. Also a Vampire’s Lament

In the Spring of our rapture,
You assuaged my hunger
With gallant love-bites and
Wept rubescent teardrops
As my own offering
Cascaded willingly into the
Vessel of your thirst.
Thereafter,
Enchanting midnight promenades,
Serenaded by love-sick werewolves,
Inevitably climaxed with
Splendiferous candlelit repasts
Of aristocratic blood plasma
And the finest port wines.
Magically abducted by the ecstasy
Of transfusion and reminiscence,
We who are forever young
Renewed our vows of
Never-ending devotion with
All the certainty and bliss
Intrinsic to incipient passion.
So golden were our halcyon days --
Yet unblemished by the ravages
Of overfamiliarity and diseased blood,
Now yielding insomnious forenoons
In separate coffins and
Solitary meals under would-be
Romantic moonlight.
Since our greatest promise
Has become your heaviest burden,
I look upon eternity as
The merciless side-effect
Of myopic infatuation ...
And dream, perhaps,
Of growing old.


Survivor.

Yeah, he’s a survivor ...
His alcoholic mother has breast cancer;
And his ‘dad’ left long before
He was born.
Living in a trailer park
Has its perks: no one really
Cares if you stay out all night ...
Or for days on end, for that matter.

Yeah, he’s a survivor ...
His sister is an ex-whore;
Struggling to stay ‘clean’
So she can keep her job
As a cashier at Wal-Mart.
Her loser live-in boyfriend is
A ‘good-for-nothing’ ...
A fucking bum who
Won’t even bother to recycle
Bottles discarded in garbage
Receptacles or containers.

Yeah, he’s a survivor ...
He gets beaten every other day
At school; and slapped once-a-week
At home. He’s used to it: doesn’t care
Any more really, but he has recently
Begun carrying a switchblade to see if it
Can be a deterrent ... like going to war in Iraq.
He dreams of getting a handgun, and is hoping
That someone famous will one day pimp his ride.

Yeah, he’s a survivor ...
He takes his HIV-meds when he remembers.
Life is a sweet mixture: sometimes ‘heaven’,
And oftentimes ‘hell’ ... depending on the ‘high’,
The sex .. or the lack of either (or both).
A neighbour-punk called him ‘faggot’ once ...
He just smiled ... causing the asshole
To split in haste and fear. Who cares?!!
It’s all temporary anyway; what with
Global warming,
Nuclear threats,
Serial killers
And terrorism ..
And those fucking ‘super malls’.

His favourite posters in his room are pictures
Of victims: from the second world war, from
Natural catastrophes, from terrorist attacks ...
Anyone who reminds him that he is one of
The lucky ones.

Doesn’t matter. For the moment anyway.
At least that’s what he thinks when his
Mom blasts the old disco hit “I will survive!” ...
The one time in a blue moon when he
Sets himself down to do his homework.

Yeah, he’s a survivor ...


For the Boys (with Aids).

To friends who don't know
And strangers who don't care,
Soldiers of love worship
Tinsel-town sex goddesses
With all their strength.
They thrive outwardly on
The rantings of Madonna and
Privately soothe their pain
And hopelessness with somber
Strains by Leonard Cohen.
Their greatest ambition is
To shake the shackles of shame
Which imprison and threaten
Them with the most undignified
Fate of all: namelessness.
To some there is no irony in death
But others are enraged at the
Uncanny plight of these handsome
Living dead whose only crime was their
Need for love and recognition.


(Photographic images are an artistic cooperation between Adam Donaldson Powell and Per Eidspjeld)