As I walk through Block Museum’s Keep the Shadow, Ere the Substance Fade exhibition, I am greeted by sadness of the AIDS crisis and nostalgia for the lost ones. According to Block Museum, this exhibition brings together artworks related to the Victorian Era and the AIDS crisis, and “questions how cultures of bereavement developed around material objects in order to deal with mortality and persevere in the face of death.” Because it is about death and disease, unsurprisingly, the exhibition brings forth the sorrow of loss and suffering. However, not all works shown at this exhibition focus on the sensibility of sadness and suffering – there is also humor. As reactions to the AIDS, Condom Man by Richard Mock and Emerging Infectious Diseases by Eric Avery reflect on the AIDS crisis with different sensibility: one with humor and another with horror. Together, they shed light on how the sensibility of horror and humor can coexist under crisis.

Condom Man by Richard Mock is a linoleum cut work that depicts a man wearing five giant condoms on the person’s head, two arms, and two legs. This man stands with his arms and legs stretched out, and with the condom over his face, the audience cannot see his face. In the background, there are different groups of lines oriented toward different directions. However, compared to the lines in the background, the groups of lines drawn in Condom Man’s body seem more organized, as they align with the direction of body parts. Such effect gives Condom Man a presence of order and confidence against the background. In addition, his linoleum cut uses only black and white, and black is used mostly in highlighting the man’s uniform. Because of Condom Man’s black-colored uniform, his body further stands out from its background, imbuing a sense of immunity from the disorganized lines in the background. Overall, Condom Man stands confidently with his legs and arms stretched out sideways, as if he is ready to take on fights against sexual diseases.

Condom Man is humorous. The cartoon-like uses of lines, five giant condoms that cover his limbs and even his head, and his confident gesture all add to the sensibility of humor. The cartoon-like image first detaches its audience from the gravity of crisis, the awkward use of condoms on limbs and head makes it funny, and finally, Condom Man’s confident stance adds even more humor to it. This sensibility of humor, however, seems to conflict with the AIDS crisis. If it is funny and was intended to be humorous, why is this on display with works that seem to be much more grave, sexual, or graphic?

Emerging Infectious Disease by Eric Avery, in contrast to Richard Mock’s Condom Man, appeals to the sensibility of horror. Although its theme is in consensus with the emergence of sexually transmitted diseases, Avery pushes the depiction of the HIV further toward extreme horror and therefore fear. In this work of linoleum cut and color lithograph, HIV and HCV (Hepatitis C) patients are receiving treatment. There is a dead patient that is being put into a body bag by doctors and nurses, and the overall condition of the hospital seems dreary. Furthermore, there is another room in which there are patients labeled with TB (Tuberculosis) being treated; Eric Avery depicts the horror of STDs in this linocut print, and juxtaposes it with the history of other major diseases, such as tuberculosis, to highlight the gravity of the AIDS crisis. Overall, his artwork, even at the first glance, is noted with negative emotions such as horror and fear.

Emerging Infectious Disease is stylistically in consonance with its dismal depiction as well. The work is set in a hospital setting, and the reality of the AIDS ward is aesthetically distorted to convey a more dismal sensibility of horror. First, the lines used in this work are thick, and therefore patients, doctors, and nurses generally visually stand out. The painting is done mostly with the use of red and blue hues, which delivers the radicalized sense of coldness and violence to its audience. In the HIV/HCV ward, crows, painted in black, anticipate the deaths of patients. Patients’ pale faces, lacking any color on them, are symbolic of morbidity. As such, Eric Avery stylistically approaches the emergence of infectious disease with the sensibility of extreme horror and fear.

Under the theme of the AIDS crisis and deadly diseases, Richard Mock appeals to the sensibility of humor while Eric Avery appeals to the sensibility of horror. Mock’s linocut with its humor instills a sense of positivity within the context of the AIDS crisis. Condom Man, who is equipped with protection against disorganized background (the AIDS crisis), represents the positive impulse against the coming of a deadly disease. He is a superhero against the villains of the AIDS; Condom Man himself is a positive figure, whose priority is to combat the AIDS. Through this humorous and friendly image of Condom Man, Mock achieves to shed light on the positive attitude within the AIDS crisis. Crisis is generally negative; Eric Avery’s artwork, through horror, resonates with such negativity. However, to Richard Mock, although the crisis itself is negative, there is still a room for positivity and humor in combating such crisis. Richard Mock and Eric Avery therefore confirms how sensibility of both horror and humor can be communicated through artworks reflective of crisis. While Avery depicts the crisis with extreme negativity that provokes fear and horror, Mock delivers humor and thus positivity despite the overwhelmingly negative nature of crisis. We do not know whether this humorous Condom Man can save the world from sexual disease or not; however, it at least sparks more positive outlook on combatting the AIDS.

When we find ourselves in a difficult situation, we tend to focus only on the negatives, and often fail to escape this captivity of negativity. However, at the same time, we sometimes use humor to cope with difficult situation, by diverting our attention away from negative stimuli and re-focusing our energy toward defeating and preventing a crisis. I imagine this humorous Condom Man breaking into the dreadful ward depicted in Avery’s artwork, shouting “Hey! I am Condom Man! Let’s fight back!” Sensibility is not always limited to work’s context. Depending on how one views and approaches its context, an artwork based on a negative context can still convey a humorous, positive sensibility.