David Wojnarowicz

David Wojnarowicz
David Wojnarowicz, from the book Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz
Born (1954-09-14)September 14, 1954
Red Bank, New Jersey, United States
Died July 22, 1992(1992-07-22) (aged 37)
New York City, New York, United States
Nationality American

David Michael Wojnarowicz (/ˌvɔɪnəˈroʊvɪtʃ/ VOY-nə-ROH-vitch;[1] September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist and AIDS activist prominent in the New York City art world.[2]

Biography

Wojnarowicz was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, and later lived most of his life with his mother in New York City, where he attended the High School of Performing Arts for a brief period. His parents divorced and then disappeared when he was 2, leaving him to a succession of temporary homes and often abusive relationships.[3] He was a victim of childhood abuse and during his teenage years was a street hustler. He graduated from the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan.[1]

After a period outside New York he returned in the late 1970s and quickly emerged as one of the most prominent and prolific members of an avant-garde wing that mixed media, and which made and used graffiti and street art. His first recognition came from stencils of houses afire that appeared on the exposed sides of buildings in the East Village.

He made super-8 films, such as Heroin, Beautiful People with Jesse Hultberg, began a photographic series of Arthur Rimbaud, did stencil work, collaborated in the band 3 Teens Kill 4 who released the independent EP No Motive in 1982. He exhibited his work in well-known East Village galleries, notably Civilian Warfare, Ground Zero Gallery NY, Public Illumination Picture Gallery, Gracie Mansion and Hal Bromm.

Wojnarowicz was also connected to other prolific artists of the time, appearing in or collaborating on works with artists like Nan Goldin, Peter Hujar, Luis Frangella, Karen Finley, Kiki Smith, John Fekner, Richard Kern, James Romberger, Marguerite Van Cook, Ben Neill, Marion Scemama and Phil Zwickler. In 1987 his longtime mentor and lover, the photographer Peter Hujar, died of AIDS, and Wojnarowicz himself learned that he was HIV-positive.[3] Hujar's death moved Wojnarowicz's work into much more explicit activism and political content, notably around the injustices, social and legal, inherent in the response to the AIDS epidemic.[1]

In 1985, he was included in the Whitney Biennial's so-called Graffiti Show. In the 1990s, he sued and successfully issued an injunction against Donald Wildmon and the American Family Association on the grounds that Wojnarowicz's work had been copied and distorted in violation of the New York Artists' Authorship Rights Act.[4]

His works include: Untitled (One Day This Kid...); Untitled (Buffalo); Water; Birth of Language II; Untitled (Shark), Untitled (Peter Hujar); Tuna; Peter Hujar Dreaming/Yukio Mishima: St. Sebastian; Delta Towels; True Myth (Domino Sugar); Something From Sleep II; Untitled (Face in Dirt); and I Feel a Vague Nausea among others.

He was also the author of several successful books, often about political and social issues of the 1980s relating to the AIDS epidemic. One of his bestsellers, Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration, is an autobiography made up of creative writing discussing topics such as his troubled childhood, he himself becoming one of the most renowned artists of his time in New York City, and being diagnosed with AIDS himself. While his artwork was his main source of expression he used such books and other media to speak to the public about important controversies of the time.[5]

Wojnarowicz died in his Manhattan home on the night of July 22, 1992, from what his boyfriend, Tom Rauffenbart, confirmed was AIDS.[1] After his death, photographer and artist Zoe Leonard, who was a friend of Wojnarowicz, exhibited a work inspired by him, entitled "Strange Fruit (for David)".[6]

Wojnarowicz has served as an inspiration to many artists. Among those who have credited him as an influence are Zoe Leonard, Victoria Yee Howe, Matt Wolf, Emily Roysdon, Henrik Olesen, Mike Estabrook, and Carrie Mae Weems.[7]

In Spring 2011, P.P.O.W. gallery showed Spirituality, an exhibition of Wojnarowicz's drawings, photographs, videos, collages, and personal notebooks; in a review in The Brooklyn Rail, Kara L. Rooney called the show "meticulously researched and commendably curated from a wide array of sources, ... a mini-retrospective, providing context and clues for Wojnarowicz's often elusive, sometimes dangerous, and always brutally honest work."[8]

A major retrospective, David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night, has been announced for exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in spring 2018.[9] It is co-curated by the Whitney's David Kiehl and art historian David Breslin.

"A Fire in My Belly" controversy

In November 2010, after consultation with Gallery director Martin Sullivan and co-curator David C. Ward but not with co-curator Jonathan David Katz,[10] G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, removed an edited version of footage used in Wojnarowicz's short silent film A Fire in My Belly from the exhibit "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture" at the National Portrait Gallery after complaints from the Catholic League, Minority Leader John Boehner, Rep. Eric Cantor and the possibility of reduced federal funding for the Smithsonian.[11] The video contains a scene with a crucifix covered in ants.[10][12][13][14] William Donohue of the Catholic League claimed the work was "hate speech", against Catholics.[15][16][17][18][19][20] Gay historian Jonathan Ned Katz wrote:

In 1989 Senator Jesse Helms demonized Robert Mapplethorpe's sexuality, and by extension, his art, and with little effort pulled a cowering art world to its knees. His weapon was threatening to disrupt the already pitiful federal support for the arts, and once again, that same weapon is being brandished, and once again we cower.[10]

Response from Clough and Smithsonian

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough later in an interview stated that although he stood by his decision, it "might have been made too quickly"[11] and he described the making of the decision as "painful."[21] Clough mentioned that because of heated controversy surrounding the footage and the possibility that it might "spiral out of control", the Smithsonian might have, in the end, been forced to shut-down the entire "Hide/Seek" exhibition, and that was "something he didn't want to happen."[21] The "Hide/Seek" exhibition "examined representations of homosexuality in American portraiture", and Clough stated "The funders and people who were upset by the decision, and I respect that, still have an appreciation that this exhibition is up. We were willing to take this topic on when others were not, and people appreciate that."[11]

I think it was very important to cut off the dialogue that was headed towards, in essence, hijacking the exhibit away from us and putting it into the context of religious desecration. This continues to be a powerful exhibit about the contributions of gay and lesbian artists. It was not about religious iconography and it was not about desecration. When you look at the news cycles that take over, their [the show's critics'] megaphones are this big [making a broad gesture] and our megaphone is this big [a small gesture]. We don't control that. And when it gets out of control, you can't get it back.

— G. Wayne Clough[22]

Clough stated "But looking back, sure, I wish I had taken more time. We have a lot of friends who felt left out. We needed to spend more time letting our friends know where this was going. I regret that."[11]

The piece was shown intact when Hide/Seek moved on to the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, Washington.[23]

Response from artists

The curator David C. Ward said: "It is not anti-religion or sacrilegious. It is a powerful use of imagery".[10]

In response, The Andy Warhol Foundation, which had provided a $100,000 grant to the exhibition, announced that it would not fund future Smithsonian projects, while several institutions, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern, scheduled showings of the removed work.[24]

On December 2, 2010, protesters against the censorship marched from the Transformer Gallery,[25][26][27] to the National Portrait Gallery. The art work was projected on the building.[28][29][30] On December 5, Michael Blasenstein and Michael Dax Iacovone were detained and barred from the gallery for holding leaflets.[31][32] On December 9, National Portrait Gallery Commissioner James T. Bartlett resigned in protest.[33] The artist AA Bronson sought to withdraw his art from the exhibit, with support from the lending institution, the National Gallery of Canada,[34] unsuccessfully as of December 20.[35] The curators appeared at a forum at the New York Public Library.[36][37][38] A protest was held from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Cooper Hewitt Museum.[39][40][41] On December 15, a panel discussion was held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.[42] On December 20, a panel discussion was held at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center.[43][44][45] On January 20, 2011, the Center of Study of Political Graphics held a protest at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.[46] Secretary Clough issued a statement standing by the decision, spoke at a Town Hall Los Angeles meeting,[47][48] and appeared at a public forum in April 26–27, 2011.[49][50][51][52] Several curators within the Smithsonian criticized the decision, as did critics, with Newsweek arts critic Blake Gopnik going so far as to call the complaints "gay bashing" and not a legitimate public controversy.[53]

Death

On October 11, 1992, David Robinson received wide media attention when he dumped the ashes of his partner, Warren Krause, on the grounds of the White House as a protest against President George H.W. Bush’s inaction in fighting AIDS. Robinson reported that this action was inspired by Wojnarowicz's 1991 memoir Close to the Knives, which imagined "what it would be like if, each time a lover, friend or stranger died of this disease, their friends, lovers or neighbors would take the dead body and drive with it in a car a hundred miles an hour to Washington DC and blast through the gates of the White House and come to a screeching halt before the entrance and dump their lifeless form on the front steps." In 1996, Wojnarowicz's own ashes were scattered on the White House lawn.[54][55]

Legacy

Just as Wojnarowicz received criticism of his art and activism prior to his death, it continued well into the 21st century. The New York Times reports in 2010 of "Criticism from Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, and several members of Congress."[56] The art at the heart of this disagreement was an image of ants crawling on a crucifix, part of a larger work that was on display in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. Subsequently, the piece was removed from the gallery, however, the internet allowed for a much larger influence, with a greater audience on this argument than previous instances.[56]

However, publicity wasn't all negative for Wojnarowicz, especially outside of the conservative and religious sphere. In 1989, the band U2 adopted the iconic tumbling buffalo photograph for their single release titled "One." This single, and subsequent album became multi-platinum over the next few years, and the band donated a large portion of its earnings to AIDS charities.[57] Furthermore, U2, during the Zoo TV Tour adapted this imagery and combined it with words, flowers, and images of buffaloes. This event has been described by many first hand accounts as very moving.[57]

The oversized gelatin print of 'Untitled (Buffaloes)' sold at auction in October 2014 for $125,000, more than four times the estimated price.[58]

Collective exhibitions

  • 2010: Les Rencontres d'Arles festival, France.

Books

  • Sounds in the Distance. (1982). Aloes Books.
  • Tongues of Flame. (Exhibition Catalog). (1990). Illinois State University.
  • Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration. (1991). Vintage Books.
  • Memories That Smell Like Gasoline. (1992). Artspace Books.
  • Seven Miles a Second. (Collaborative graphic novel with James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook, completed posthumously). (1996). Vertigo/DC Comics.
  • The Waterfront Journals. (1997). Grove/Atlantic.
  • Rimbaud In New York 1978–1979. (Edited by Andrew Roth). (2004). Roth Horowitz, LLC/PPP Editions.
  • In the Shadow of the American Dream: The Diaries of David Wojnarowicz. (Amy Scholder, editor). (2000). Grove/Atlantic.
  • Willie World. (Illustrator; written by Maggie J. Dubris). (1998). C U Z Editions.
  • Weight of the Earth: The Tape Journals of David Wojnarowicz. (Lisa Darms and David O'Neill, editors). (2018). MIT Press.

Films

  • Postcards From America – a non-linear biography of David Wojnarowicz (Steve McLean, director)
  • Fire in my Belly Filmed in Mexico and New York in 1986 and 1987, no soundtrack (David Wojnarowicz, director)
  • Beautiful People Filmed in New York City in 1987, no soundtrack (David Wojnarowicz, director)

Music

  • 3 Teens Kill 4 EP No Motive 1982
  • Cross Country 3 x LP Reading Group 2018

Critical studies and adaptations

  • Blinderman, Barry ed. David Wojnarowicz : Tongues of Flame, 1990, ISBN 978-0-945558-15-6
  • Close to the Knives. (1993) AIDS Positive Underground Theatre. John Roman Baker.[59]
  • David Wojnarowicz: Brush Fires in the Social Landscape. (1995). Aperture.
  • Wojnarowicz, David, et al., ed. Amy Scholder. Fever: The Art of David Wojnarowicz. (1999). New Museum Books.
  • David Wojnarowicz : A Definitive History of Five or Six Years on the Lower East Side, interviews by Sylvère Lotringer, edited by Giancarlo Ambrosino (2006).
  • Carr, Cynthia Fire in the Belly The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz (2012) St Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-596-91533-6
  • Laing, Olivia The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone (2016) Canongate ISBN 978-1-250-11803-5

Archival collections

The David Wojnarowicz Papers are located in the Fales Library at New York University. The Fales Library also houses the papers of John Hall, a high school friend of Wojnarowicz. The papers include a small collection of letters from Wojnarowicz to Hall.

See also

  • Joel Wachs, head of Andy Warhol Foundation, protested removal of Wojnarowicz piece

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kimmelman, Michael (July 24, 1992). "David Wojnarowicz, 37, Artist in Many Media". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  2. ↑ Hirsch, Faye (April 2005). "David Wojnarowicz at P.P.O.W. and Roth Horowitz". Art in America. 94 (4): 143.
  3. 1 2 Cotter, Holland (December 10, 2010). "As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix, Dead Artist Is Assailed Again". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ See Wojnarowicz v. American Family Association, 745 F.Supp 130 (1990).
  5. ↑ Sumners, Lucy (2008), AIDS Art: Activism on Canvas, University of Rhode Island
  6. ↑ Sorkin, Jenni (March 2008), "Finding the Right Darkness", frieze (113), archived from the original on 2008-02-26, retrieved May 16, 2010
  7. ↑ Wojnarowicz's Children: Artworks Inspired by the Controversial, and Revered, Artist BLOUINARTINFO.com
  8. ↑ Rooney, Kara L. (April 2011). "David Wojnarowicz: Spirituality". The Brooklyn Rail.
  9. ↑ "David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night". Whitney Museum of American Art. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Jacqueline Trescott (December 6, 2010). "After Smithsonian exhibit's removal, banned ant video still creeps into gallery". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Trescott, Jacqueline (January 19, 2011). "Clough defends removal of video". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Smithsonian Q&A Regarding the "Hide/Seek" Exhibition" (PDF). December 7, 2010. pp. 1–2. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  13. ↑ Cooter, Holland (December 10, 2010). "As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix, Dead Artist Is Assailed Again". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Museum removes portrait of crucifix covered in ants". The Daily Telegraph. December 2, 2010.
  15. ↑ "National Portrait Gallery in Washington bows to right-wing censorship". Wsws.org. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  16. ↑ "National Portrait Gallery censorship controversy: Who was David Wojnarowicz?". TBD.com. December 2, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  17. ↑ Gopnik, Blake (December 1, 2010). "Museums shouldn't bow to censorship of any kind". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  18. ↑ Starr, Penny (November 29, 2010). "Smithsonian Christmas-Season Exhibit Features Ant-Covered Jesus, Naked Brothers Kissing, Genitalia, and Ellen DeGeneres Grabbing Her Breasts". CNSnews.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Smithsonian to Remove Ant-Covered Jesus on Cross Video From Exhibit". Fox News. April 7, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Fire in their belly". The Economist. December 13, 2010.
  21. 1 2 Taylor, Kate (January 18, 2011). "Smithsonian Chief Defends Withdrawal of Video". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  22. ↑ Rosenbaum, Lee (January 20, 2011). "'Hide/Seek' Interview: Smithsonian Secretary Clough 'Can Do the Math' (But Miscalculates)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  23. ↑ Cartier, Curtis (March 17, 2011). "David Wojnarowicz Film Is Too Hot for Smithsonian and Republicans, But Not for Tacoma Art Museum". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  24. ↑ Harmanci, Reyhan (December 14, 2010). "Outcry Over Smithsonian Censorship Grows". The Bay Citizen.
  25. ↑ Dave Itzkoff (December 2, 2010). "Pulled from National Portrait Gallery, Video Emerges Elsewhere in Washington". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ "Going Out Gurus – 'Hide/Seek': Go see it for yourself". The Washington Post. December 1, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  27. ↑ Capps, Kriston (December 1, 2010). "Transformer Will Show Video Art That National Portrait Gallery Took Down". Washington City Paper. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  28. ↑ "National Portrait Gallery censorship controversy: Artist projects film on portrait gallery, recreating '89 protest". Capital Bay. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  29. ↑ "Silent March Held To Protest Controversial Film's Removal From National Portrait Gallery". WUSA9.com. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  30. ↑ Jessica Roake (December 2, 2010). "What Else Is in the National Portrait Gallery's "Offensive" Gay Show?". The Awl. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  31. ↑ "Protestors banned from Smithsonian after playing video on iPad". The Washington Post. April 13, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Portrait Gallery Censorship: Can you REALLY be 'banned for life' from the Smithsonian?", TBDArts, December 6, 2010
  33. ↑ Green, Tyler (December 9, 2010). "NPG commissioner resigns to protest removal". Modern Art Notes. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  34. ↑ Taylor, Kate (December 17, 2010). "Canadian Museum Backs Smithsonian Protest". The New York Times.
  35. ↑ Taylor, Kate, "National Portrait Gallery Rejects Artist’s Request to Remove His Work", The New York Times Arts Beat blog, December 20, 2010, 2:20 pm. Retrieved 2101-12-21.
  36. ↑ Taylor, Kate (December 15, 2010). "Exhibit's Curators Criticize Controversial Art's Removal". The New York Times.
  37. ↑ Miranda, Carolina A. (December 16, 2010). "In the Wake of the Smithsonian Controversy: Hide/Seek Curators Speak at the New York Public Library". WNYC Culture. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  38. ↑ Rosenbaum, Lee (December 21, 2010). ""Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Useful Policy for the "Hide/Seek" Show at National Portrait Gallery". The Huffington Post.
  39. ↑ Wallin, Yasha (December 21, 2010). "Hide/Seek Protest in New York". Art in America. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Hundreds in NYC Protest Hide/Seek Censorship". Band of Thebes. December 20, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  41. ↑ Kennicott, Philip (December 16, 2010). "Video outcry flares anew". The Washington Post.
  42. ↑ "Large crowd of Houston art lovers protest Smithsonian censorship of A Fire in My Belly". CultureMap Houston. December 15, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  43. ↑ "Hide/Seek – An evening with David C. Ward Historian, National Portrait Gallery; Curator, Hide/Seek". The Theater J Blog. December 16, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  44. ↑ "PAST: Special Talk "hide/SPEAK" with David C. Ward, Curator of "Hide/Seek" exhibit at the NPG". Free in DC. November 20, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  45. ↑ "Hide/Seek: National Portrait Gallery Tour with NPG Curator David C. Ward". Washington DC Jewish Community Center. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  46. ↑ "Center for the Study of Political Graphics". Politicalgraphics.org. September 8, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  47. ↑ "Critic's Notebook: Smithsonian chief digging a deeper hole". Los Angeles Times. January 18, 2011.
  48. ↑ "Protest over art censorship will greet Smithsonian chief before L.A. talk Thursday". Los Angeles Times. January 19, 2011.
  49. ↑ Trescott, Jacqueline (January 19, 2011). "Smithsonian Secretary Clough stands by decision to pull 'Fire in My Belly' video". The Washington Post.
  50. ↑ Judkis, Maura (January 20, 2011). "Portrait Gallery Censorship: Smithsonian secretary speaks". @TBD Arts. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  51. ↑ "Clough Gets Testy at "Hide/Seek" Conference (Call Martin Sullivan!)". Arts Journal. April 27, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  52. ↑ "Public Forum "Flashpoints and Fault Lines: Museum Curation and Controversy" April 26–27". Smithsonian Newsdesk. April 28, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  53. ↑ Zongker, Brett (27 April 2011). "Experts debate Smithsonian's response to critics". Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  54. ↑ "Critic's Notebook: Why the Ashes of AIDS Victims on the White House Lawn Matter". VICE News. August 29, 2016.
  55. ↑ "[United in Anger: A History of ACT UP], a film by Jim Hubbard". Interview with David Robinson. August 29, 2016.
  56. 1 2 "As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix, Dead Artist Is Assailed Again".
  57. 1 2 "U2 and buffalo photograph | The Pop History Dig". www.pophistorydig.com. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  58. ↑ "THE BUFFALO JUMP". ANTIQUES FOR THE AGES. 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  59. ↑ Aputheatre poster: Close to the Knives Archived February 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.;
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