David Kirby on his deathbed, Ohio, 1990-Therese Frare

 David Kirby on his deathbed, Ohio, 1990-Therese Frare

 

             I found “David Kirby on his deathbed, Ohio, 1990” by Therese Frare on LIFE.com. The image is particularly striking one. As its title suggests, the image depicts a man, David Kirby, literally on his death bed. He is surrounded by his family, yet his expression seems to be completely void of any recognition. He looks hollow, gaunt, and morbid. His father is comforting him, although it doesn’t appear that David is even conscious, and his mother and sister embrace each other.

            Of all the images I’ve picked so far, this is probably the most powerful. The back-story to it makes it even more powerful. David Kirby was an gay-rights activist who contracted HIV. He reconciled with his estranged family, in order to die surrounded by his loved one. His final picture captured this. He was only 32 years old. I’m struck by the amount of intimacy the photo captures. There can be few things as private and precious as someone passing away with their families, yet we are fortunate enough to share this moment with them. It captures the sorrow and hopelessness of the situation. His family looks utterly devastated, but the person dying is completely devoid of emotions we might expect.

            The picture also does a lot to capture the essence of the AIDS epidemic. Although the image was taken just 25 years ago, medicine has increased magnitudes. In just a few short years after this photo was taken, antivirals would be developed which allow people to live indefinitely with AIDS (which used to be a death sentence). The picture does a lot to bring how terrible the disease is. It looks as if Kirby had his life sucked out of him, and that he was a shell of the person he used to be. Regardless of one’s views on the gay community, an image like this is powerful enough to make everyone agree that no one deserves a demise such as David Kirby’s.