Engaged Buddhism

The Names Project

By Janet Lipner

quilt.

I helped to assemble the AIDs Memorial Quilt one Saturday in November. Working along with other Chicago Cares volunteers and Names Project volunteers, we were able to cable-tie many hundred sections together, in preparation for its display at Navy Pier over the Thanksgiving weekend. This display was only a part of the quilt, about three football fields’ worth. It is no longer possible to display it in its entirety, because it is just too big. If all the panels were laid end-to-end it would stretch across 47 miles.

Each panel is six by three, grave-size. Each section is made of many of these panels, rimmed by metal eyelets, through which we put plastic ties to hold each batch together. You have to walk across the cloth so we were all in stocking feet. There is a special way to fold them called “the lotus”, where one person stands in the middle and each corner is brought to this person one at a time. Then it is folded again in the same way and then in half twice. You really feel its weight when you heft a corner. Each bundle is tagged and placed in a particular box along with the others that join it at the display. It took three of us to carry each into the storage area. The project is massive, but so well organized that it was not too burdensome for any of us. All of the work is regularly done by volunteers.

These panels are wonderful! Each is an artwork crafted by friends or family, usually with the person’s name and dates, mostly young men born in the 60’s, but some women too. There are often photos, either paper ones secured under a layer of plastic, or photos printed on fabric and attached. One contains an entire cloth photo album, with plastic along the edges. There are all kinds of fabrics: shiny, soft, stuffed, printed, embroidered, beaded, and embellished with small decorations, like a tiny chef’s hat and a tiny lawn chair. There are many teddy bears and clothes, like the person’s favorite hat or sweatshirt. There is one where the man’s clothes are arranged as if he’s wearing them with a proportioned photographic portrait of his face above. One has baby shoes attached to it and says, “Mom, if you could see me now.” The persons being honored are often described in words or in pictures with attention to hobbies, pets, locales, memberships, favorite things, and occupations. There are many angels and even a couple of Buddhas. These memorial tributes are lovingly done, full or sparse, sophisticated or funky, and so beautiful. One large section has recently been shown at the Contemporary Museum of Art in Chicago.

When I later visited Navy Pier with Cynthia and Mom to view it, I wrote down some of the words: Life is changed, not taken away.
Brave and Cheerful.
Gentle and Sensitive.
Do something you like.
Do it every day.
Joy is the visible.
You only live once but if you do it right,
once is enough.
I can’t even march straight.
I’d rather be bowling.
Their life was an elegant party
and everyone was invited.
We have loved the stars too dearly
to be afraid of the night.

At the display were many fresh roses placed on the Quilt by visitors. There were also boxes of tissues at convenient intervals around the edges.

New sections are still being accepted. Some people are represented several times, like a little boy named Ryan, who has eight panels. There is no limit. Every Saturday afternoon at the Uptown Bank on the eighth floor there is a volunteer available to tell you the dimensions and provide information on how you might want to proceed. There is a special ceremony for its inclusion.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the largest on-going community arts project in the world. As the epidemic claims more lives, the Quilt continues to grow. The Quilt stands for more than the tens of thousands of people whose names are sewn into the fabric. It stands, as well, for the sorrow, anger, love and hope of people who make panels.

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