(Los Angeles, CA. – September 12, 2017) Milk Studios, for the third consecutive year, will host PHOTO17,
the annual photography auction to benefit STORIES: The AIDS Monument. The event will be held Thursday,
October 5th at Milk’s Hollywood location. Sharon Stone will once again serve as Event Honorary Chair. “This
Monument means love; it means hope; it means we do our part and stand against the ill will we see in the
world…” said Stone announcing this year’s event. Rufus Wainwright, one of the great male vocalists,
composers, and songwriters of his generation, has released eight studio albums, three DVDs, and three live
albums. He has collaborated with artists ranging from Elton John, David Byrne, Robbie Williams Mark
Ronson, Joni Mitchell to Burt Bacharach. His album “Rufus Does Judy” recorded at Carnegie Hall in 2006
was nominated for a Grammy, will perform to support, STORIES: The AIDS Monument.
Rufus Wainwright by Matthew Welch
“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”, noted Willie Maldonado, MILK LA’s founder & 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.” Milk Studios has generously underwritten the event for the past two years.
100% of the proceeds from Photo17 benefit STORIES: The AIDS Monument and the Foundation for
The AIDS Monument. The foundation is in the final phase of a $5 million fundraising campaign to
build The AIDS Monument designed by Daniel Tobin of the Urban Art Projects which will be located
in West Hollywood Park.
The auction will feature live and silent auctions of extraordinary 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, Karen Kuehn and many more. Photo17 will include 80 silent lots and 20 live lots, with
bidding available around the world via Paddle8 on line bidding.
Sly Stone & Kathy Silva, Los Angeles 1974, by Norman Seef
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 Antonio’s memory. This year’s auction will also feature extraordinary images
of Sly Stone, Debbie Harry and Andy Warhol by Norman Seef, including those noted here. The
Herb Ritts Foundation has also donated rare, signed Herb Ritts photographs.
Since 2015, over $500,000 has been raised from the PHOTO events hosted by Milk Studios. The
event, managed by an all-volunteer committee, has an expected attendance of 400 people and
will include a preview cocktail reception with food provided by Love Catering and produced by
Bryan Rabin. In a short two years, the PHOTO events for the Monument have become the premiere
photo auction in Los Angeles for AIDS related causes. Many noted young photographers will also
have images included in this year’s auction. Committee members include: Bobby Heller (OPUS),
Willie Maldonado (Milk Studios), Laura Watts (Honor Fraser), Pat Lanza (Annenberg Center for
Photography), Bianca Chen (JF Chen), Lane and Linda Janger, Paris Chong (Leica Gallery), Michael
Shulman (Shulman Foundation), Claudia Bartlett-James (Photo LA) Charles Hannah (Norman Seef
Studios), Maureen Keveany, (Milk Studios), Brian Ferrick, Chris Davies (Fabrik Media), and Pete
Franciosa (United Talent Agency), Jennifer Pinto, Michael Ferrera (FAM Executive Director) and John
Gile.
Major donors to the Monument Foundation include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Visit West
Hollywood, The Guess Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, MAC AIDS Fund, Broadway
Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and CAA partners Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane.
Cocktail reception hosted by Milk Studios.
100% of the net proceeds benefit the Foundation for the AIDS Monument
– www.aidsmonument.org
VIP HOST Tickets: $1,000
VIP Ticket: $250
General Admission Tickets: $150 (early bird until Sept 19)
Tickets Available for sale at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/photo17-tickets-
36933023668#tickets
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