Medicine Man 2
Over 300 empty HIV medication bottles collected during the past 15 years – including those of HIV positive artist Daniel Goldstein and his partners and friends, some dead, some living, were used to construct Medicine Man 2. The suspended sculpture is over seven feet tall. Strands of steel wire are threaded with translucent orange and white bottles of various sizes to create the elements of the floating figure.
Viewers are reminded of the countless pills HIV positive people must take and of the life-sustaining power these medicines provide. Encircling the human-shaped cluster of bottles are 139 syringes, each tipped with a red droplet. This elicits both a feeling of being bombarded and of energy radiating out from the body. “The piece speaks to the joy of living after having experienced so much death,” says Goldstein. “The shapes in this piece echo many spiritual traditions. From the resurrection in Christianity and the enlightened Buddha on the lotus, to the halos that surround the saints of all cultures.”
List of people whose bottles are in this sculpture:
Daniel Goldstein – the artist
Dennis Robbins – Daniel’s first partner (1973-1974)
Gary Denys – friend since 1983
Mark Garrett – friend since 2000
Stephen Pelton – friend since 1992
Tim Oates – partner (1986-1996), Died of AIDS 1996
Ron Newman – partner (1997-2002)
Denis Chicola – Ron Newman’s current partner (and husband)
Ken Leeds – friend from 1996-2002, Died of AIDS/HepC in 2002
John Kapellas – friend and artistic collaborator since 2000 (introduced by Ken Leeds)
Steve Moorman – John’s partner (1991-2006)
Michael Harriman – John’s partner (2006-2008)