In the fall of 1987 Bill Olander offered the window of The New Museum For Contemporary Art to ACT UP for an agit-prop piece exploring the political and social dimensions of the AIDS crisis. A small group of ACT UP activists accepted his offer and worked with The New Museum to develop the installation Let The Record Show. The enthusiastic reception of the installation lead to the creation of Gran Fury, an activist artist collective producing agit-prop around issues related to the AIDS crisis. They chose the name Gran Fury after the brand of Plymouth automobile used as a squad car by the NYPD. Gran Fury began in early 1988 and worked continuously until 1994 in various permutations with different members of a core group of about ten.**
Gran Fury’s first projects were Xeroxed flyers and poster sniping (illegal wheat-pasting of posters on vacant signage), a working method which grew out of ACT UP’s aesthetic and limited funds. Inspired by Gran Fury’s early works lo-fi aesthetic, Marc Jacobs created a limited-edition capsule collection to honor the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Net proceeds from sales will go to The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. A vital part of the NY queer community, The Center welcomes over 6,000 people per week and hosts over 400 organization each year.
The Marc Jacobs Pride 2019 Capsule is available now from:
The Marc Jacobs 59 Greene Street New York
Marc Jacobs 655 Madison Avenue New York
Bookmarc 400 Bleecker Street New York
**Text and images from ACT UP. For more information on ACT UP and Gran Fury go to actupny.org
For more information on The Center go to gaycenter.org.
