Staying power: What a photographer’s retrospective says about the AIDS crisis
At 70, photographer David Lebe is having his first retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He didn't think he'd live to see it.
Listen 11:56
"Angelo on the Roof" by David Lebe, 1979. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
More than 25 years ago, photographer David Lebe and his partner, Jack Potter were diagnosed as HIV positive. They quit their jobs in Philadelphia, moved to upstate New York, and basically waited to die. During that time, Lebe made photographs of Potter — photographs he never expected anyone to see. Now at age 70, Lebe is having his first retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. On this episode of The Why, Lebe and Potter join us to discuss why it’s important to look back at these photos and what these images tell us about the history of the HIV/AIDS crisis.
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