Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - August 25, 2006
What began as a simple plan to earn money for medicine through handicrafts has led to the creation of several massive and elaborate communal artworks--the most recent of which went on display Aug. 20 above the altar of St. James Episcopal Cathedral, the first stop of a U.S. tour.
The Keiskamma Altarpiece, named after a river that flows past Hamburg, is 13 feet high and 22 feet wide. It combines intricate embroidery, applique and beadwork with life-size portrait photography to express the horrors of AIDS and the resilience of Hamburg's people.
"It took more than 120 women and three or four men about six months of full-time work to create this," said the project's originator, Dr. Carol Hofmeyr, whose husband opened an AIDS clinic and hospice in Hamburg several years ago. At least 30 percent of the adult population in the region was HIV-positive and modern health care was nonexistent.
The altarpiece is based on one of the greatest works of the German Renaissance, Matthias Grunewald's Isenheim Altarpiece of 1515, which was itself a response to disease.
The work will be displayed in Chicago until Sept. 20.
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