Auction to Benefit WeHo AIDS Monument Set for Oct. 5

A rendering of the AIDS monument for West Hollywood Park by Daniel Tobin.

The third annual Photo17, a photography auction to benefit the AIDS monument planned for West Hollywood Park, will take place on Thursday at Milk Studios in Hollywood.

This year’s event  will feature a performance by Rufus Wainwright.

“This auction, now in its third year, attracts many of the world’s finest photographers. The expressions and contributions toward the AIDS monument make this a perfect event for Milk to support,” said Willie Maldonado, Milk LA’s founder and partner and co-chair of the Photo17 event. “The untold loss — and untold stories of the artists, models and fashion industry leaders cannot be measured. This is our way of bringing those stories to life, and to remember those people in an artistic way.”

“I am so proud of the amazing committee of 20 volunteers that has helped put this show together,” said Bobby Heller, event co-chair. ” I have lost 30 plus friends to AIDS, and am a  survivor in this war, and this monument and our event is our way of paying tribute to those we love and recognize the impact this has had on the artistic community.”

One hundred percent of the proceeds from Photo17 will benefit the Foundation for the AIDS Monument, which is in the final phase of a $5 million campaign to raise money to build the monument. It is designed by Daniel Tobin of the Urban Art Projects and will be located in West Hollywood Park.

The auction will feature live and silent auctions of photographs from collectors and galleries. Past participants include Julius Shulman, Brad Elterman, Jack Pierson, Jeff Wall, Firooz Zahedi, Norman Seef, Bruce Weber, Ellen Von Unwerth, Pamela Hanson, Antonio Lopez, Herb Ritts, Greg Gorman, Catherine Opie, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper, Kihende Wiley, John Divola, William Wegman and Karen Kuehn. Photo17 will include 80 silent lots and 20 live lots, with bidding available around the world via Paddle8 online bidding.

Highlights of this year’s auction include one-of-a-kind photos of Jessica Lange taken by Antonio Lopez. The photos, taken in Paris in 1978, are part of the noted fashion illustrator’s estate collection, and are not available for purchase — but have been entrusted to the Foundation for the AIDS Monument in Lopez’s memory. This year’s auction also will feature images of Sly Stone, Debbie Harry and Andy Warhol by Norman Seef. The Herb Ritts Foundation also has donated signed Herb Ritts photographs.

Since 2015, over $500,000 has been raised from the photo events hosted by Milk Studios. The event takes place from 7 to 10 p.m. at Milk’s studio at 855 N. Cahuenga Blvd. It will include a preview cocktail reception with food provided by Love Catering and produced by Bryan Rabin.

General admission tickets are $150 if purchased before Sept. 19. VIP tickets are $250 and VIP host tickets are $1,000.
Tickets are available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/photo17-tickets-36933023668#tickets