Visual Archives of the AIDS Epidemic: Examining the Cultivation of Anticipatory Mourning in the Works of Nan Goldin, Cookie Mueller, and Vittorio Scarpati

In examining Putti’s Puddingand The Cookie Portfolioas independent yet intertwined projects of anticipatory mourning, this thesis identifies Witnesses: Against Our Vanishing as the artistic fulfillment of Vittorio Scarpati, Cookie Mueller, and Nan Goldin’s combined efforts to proleptically manifest collective memory within the visual archive of their shared experience with AIDS. Assisted by an exploration of both the AIDS epidemic and the three artist’s linked life histories, this study also recognizes the importance of creating an art history inclusive of social and personal history whilst considering materials so inextricably linked to their creator’s biographical contexts