In the 1990s, a button-pushing New York artist took on a subject that cut him to the quick: HIV and AIDS.

Barton Benes had lost a lot of friends, including his boyfriend, and was himself HIV-positive when an everyday kitchen accident took on a surreal bent -- one that got him thinking about the visceral power of blood, and how it plays on our deepest fears. (For the rest of the story, listen to our piece on Benes in our Blood episode.)

The result is a series Benes titled Lethal Weapons -- a collection of pieces filled with the artist's own HIV-infected blood, and steeped in a sense of both danger and humor.

Here are a few of his weapons:

Lethal Weapons: Essence, 1994. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Lethal Weapons: Silencer, 1993. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Warren Benes

Lethal Weapons: Absolute Benes, 1994. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Lethal Weapons: Venomous Rose, 1993. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Lethal Weapons: Crown of Thorns, 1996. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Warren Benes

Lethal Weapons: Pacifier, 1997. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Lethal Weapons: Atonement, 1996. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Warren Benes

Lethal Weapons: Flying Missile, 1996. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Warren Benes

Lethal Weapons: Molotov Cocktail, 1994. Barton Lidicé Beneš / Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery

Benes lived and worked in an incredibly eclectic apartment in Greenwich Village which he referred to as his "catacombs." It was a collection of all sorts of taboo objects (from celebrity urine samples to found body parts...really). Soon you'll be to visit his cabinet of curiosities -- Benes gifted all the objects and art within to the North Dakota Museum of Art, which is raising money to reassemble the apartment exactly as it was. With one addition: Barton's ashes permanently displayed in his home and now museum. In the meantime, you can take a digital tour.

Barton cataloging items in his apartment. Courtesy of Laurel Reuter