Artist, Donald Moffett: I'm Donald Moffett, artist with a deep interest in citizenship.
The city in 1978, which is when I got here, was filthy and fun. It was wide open and it was lawless in a way that was constructive. And then it all came fairly rapidly crashing down and to a horrible, tragic halt.
Anybody, everybody is susceptible to AIDS, but it started in this very kind of tight thing that was framed as a gay disease. There was this lack of information, response, drugs, progress on a deadly disease that was extremely targeted at that point. People were just dying, and those that weren't were incredibly frustrated and angry. Artistically, I can remember a feeling like “I have to do this work.” This was a way of activating what was happening socially and politically.
This work has a very colorful, cheerful background, which actually is taken from these beautiful test patterns that would roll when the broadcast networks would go off the air in the middle of the night. And then there's extremely precise type on top of it that has a message.
It says: "Call the White House, 1 (202) 456-1414." Then in smaller type: "Tell Bush we're not all dead yet."
The number's still true. I called it this morning. They pick up the phone, "White House." You know, you won't find Bush. But if you got something to say, you should call it.