AIDS Walk Atlanta

After reading through all of the information provided on the AIDS Quilt Website, I found a lot of the facts to be very interesting. One of the most amazing things I read was the story of the start of the AIDS Quilt tradition. The story says that everyone put the names of their loved ones on a placard, and then they placed all of the placards on a wall in columns and rows. The rectangle that was created by all of the placards resembled a quilt. The next year, the first ever square of the AIDS Quilt was created. There were sewing machines and other materials donated in support of the making of the quilt. In 1987 the entire quilt was displayed as a whole! I couldn’t imagine seeing all 1,920 panels together for the first time! The first showing was such a success that the quilt got its own tour of the major cities that had been affected by AIDS. The most mind-blowing thing about the whole story is the Nobel Prize nomination the quilt received. Not only is it a work of art but also a memorial to AIDS victims everywhere created by the loved ones they have left behind.



Jeffrey M. Pitts’ quilt square grabbed my attention immediately. My first reaction to this particular quilt square was ‘wow’. Not only the design and layout, but the pictures, the colors, and the actual written content made me very interested to stop and investigate further. The border around the quilt, though at first glance it may seem like simply a pretty pattern seems to have more meaning. It has stars and moons and suns. To me, this suggests the importance of Mr. Pitts to his family and friends; one could almost infer that their worlds revolved around him. He must have been a very special person to attract the kind of people that created this square for him. The layout of the square makes it apparent that his spirit will still be around for his loved ones to remember him. They have the memories portrayed in the pictures, which act as stars in the night sky that the quilt resembles. After the border pattern and the layout, I focused on the pictures. The life this man led was, simply put, great. All of the pictures show fun and friends and love. There is no mistaking the heart and spirit this man put into his life and the life of those around him. One picture shows Jeffrey in what looks like a restaurant having a meal with close friends. It is evident in this simple picture that he was important to their lives, and that he was an excellent friend to have. The most shocking part of the square is the written content. It reads that Jeffrey Pitts was only twenty-eight years old when he fell to AIDS. The thought that I am a whole ten years younger than he was shows the true horror behind the AIDS epidemic in Atlanta.

This panel struck me as one of the more somber pictures. I believe the dark, solemn colors create this effect. However, I don’t believe the somberness takes anything away from the quilt square at all. The creation of the square alone is meant to be a memorial, a way to remember the person with whom the creator spent all of those good times. It is also a celebration. The pictures are clearly a celebration of those good times, and a celebration of the person that was able to be there to make them so special. The feeling of love that is radiating from the quilt immediately impacts anyone who sees this square. I could feel the sadness that the creators of the square feel now that Jeffery is gone.

The main use of pathos in the square would be from the pictures. The pictures hit heart very hard. They allow viewers to see into the great life of this young man, and see how much love was in his life. In a way, the date can also been seen as pathos. I looked from the pictures, showing Jeffery having fun and loving life, and then I moved to the date. It almost negated everything I had seen, and made the square a sad story.