The “truth” Tobacco Memorial
William H. Helfand, Jan Lazarus, and Paul Theerman
On July 27, 2000, a city lot was filled with 1200 body bags, representing the daily toll from tobacco use in the United States. Constructed on vacant land in the heart of downtown Washington, DC, the memorial made visible a largely hidden state of affairs -- the individual, isolated, and often painful deaths of those who die from smoking-related illnesses. A bright orange banner with the single word truth punctuated the stark scene. Those who had lost family and friends to tobacco-related illnesses left personal messages at the site, remembering their cherished ones with love and, often, with anger.
The “truth” Tobacco Memorial was conceived and constructed by teenagers in the “truth” movement, some of whom can be the seen in this image. The “truth” movement is a project of the American Legacy Foundation, an antismoking organization created in November 1998 as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement between the tobacco industry and numerous states and territories. Though the memorial was taken down at the end of October 2000, an online version remains the centerpiece of http://www.thetruth.com. That Web site provides information on smoking and tobacco-related illness and sponsors opportunities for teenagers and others to get involved in the “truth” movement. The memorial is also featured in a series of
television and video advertisements, part of “truth” ’s anti-smoking campaign begun in February 2000.
This memorial draws on a tradition of participatory and political art that goes back to the great public festivals of French revolutionary times. Closer to our own era, the art of politics and remembrance is illustrated by Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party and her other works of the 1970s and 1980s, and by the AIDS quilt of the 1990s. These works fused a creative vision, the work of devoted volunteers, and the participation of those who, at a site of remembrance, found both solace and new dedication to a cause. Here, the piles of body bags, dismal as they are, provide a somber statement about the human cost of tobacco use and a powerful impetus for people to work for reform.
William H. Helfand is a conultant based in New York, NY. Jan Lazarus and Paul Theerman are with the HisTory of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md.
The above was from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1446534/pdf/11211626.pdf
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