Speed of Life

"So often we think that when we're talking about the AIDS epidemic … we should be focusing mainly on the contributions that people in medicine can make—and we need those contributions…. But what I want to suggest is that we also need artists to enter the conversation, to enter the mix."  - David Gere, project director for the Art/Global Health Center and an associate professor and World Art and Cultures co-chair. Today we join as a global community and pay tribute to the millions of lives lost and families affected by HIV/AIDS on World AIDS Day. We also pay tribute to the nurses, care givers and doctors who have cared for those afflicted and all those working for a cure. People light candles in the shape of a red ribbon, the symbol of the AIDS awareness campaign, during a rally to mark World AIDS Day in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009.  AP PHOTO/ACHMAD IBRAHIM This morning the Washington Post sponsored an online chat with UCLA's Dr. Michael Gottlieb...

by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Road to Mandalay 40"x30" oil on linen 2011 “For decades Americans have been deeply concerned about the denial of basic human rights for the Burmese people. The persecution of democratic reformers, the brutality shown toward ethnic minorities and the concentration of power in the hands of a few military leaders has challenged our conscience and isolated Burma from the United States and much of the world. After years of darkness, we’ve seen flickers of progress in these last several weeks as the president and Parliament in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, have taken steps toward reform. Of course there’s far more to be done." -President Barack Obama, November 2011 (Statement on Burma delivered at the 2011 Pacific Rim Meeting in Bali, Indonesia) Four years after the Saffron Revolution in Burma, enough progress towards a free Burma has been made that President Barack Obama is sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a tr...

by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Memory Wall: My Father at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 24”x18” oil on linen 2011 At the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam last October on my birthday, I was able to visit the painting I first remember: Rembrandt's iconic group portrait The Sampling Officials of the Amsterdam Drapers Guild . As a six year old, I stood before the painting and recognized it as the same image on the Dutch Masters' cigar box, my father's go-to brand. The connection was phenomenal; I was hooked. My dad had just finished his tour in the Vietnam War, where he had been serving as a JAG officer in the United States Marine Corps, and we were traveling around Europe. To this day, I recall most everything about that European family reunion. A lifelong love of Rembrandt ensued. Rembrandt's intellect and courage allowed him to move beyond a search for a mere likeness. Instead, Rembrandt pushed deep into the work to seek the inner selves of his sitters. I thank m...