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David Wojnarowicz
Born(1954-09-14)September 14, 1954
Red Bank, New Jersey
DiedJuly 22, 1992(1992-07-22) (aged 37)
Manhattan, New York City, New York
NationalityAmerican

David Wojnarowicz (/ˌvɔɪnəˈroʊvɪtʃ/; September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was a painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, and activist who was prominent in the New York City art world of the 1980s.

Biography

Wojnarowicz was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, and later lived with his mother in New York City, where he attended the High School of Performing Arts for a brief period. From 1970 until 1973, after dropping out of school, he for a time lived on the streets of New York City prostituting himself and also worked as a farmer on the Canadian border.

Upon returning to New York City, he went through a particularly prolific period for his artwork from the late 1970s through the 1980s. During this time, he made super-8 films, such as Heroin, began a photographic series of Arthur Rimbaud, did stencil work, played in a band called 3 Teens Kill 4, and 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 is 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, Ben Neill and Phil Zwickler.

In 1985, he was included in the Whitney Biennial, the so-called Graffiti Show. In the 1990s, he fought 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. Wojnarowicz' successful lawsuit represented a notable and affirmative step towards artists rights in the United States.

Wojnarowicz died of AIDS-related complications on July 22, 1992, at the age of 37. His personal papers are part of the Downtown Collection held by the Fales Library at New York University.

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.

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)".

Wojnarowicz has served as an inspiration to many artists; those that have credited him as an influence include: Zoe Leonard, Victoria Yee Howe, Matt Wolf, Emily Roysdon, Henrik Olesen, Mike Estabrook, and Carrie Mae Weems.

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."

"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, 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 (available online) 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. The video contains a scene with a crucifix covered in ants. William Donohue of the Catholic League claimed the work was "hate speech", against Catholics. 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.

Response from Clough and Smithsonian

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough later in interview states that although he stands by his decision, it "might have been made too quickly" and he describes that making the decision was "painful." Clough mentions that because of heated controversy surrounding the footage and the possibility that it might "spiral out of control", the Smithsonian might be in the end forced to shut-down the entire "Hide/Seek" exhibition, and its "something he didn’t want to happen." The "Hide/Seek" exhibition "examines representations of homosexuality in American portraiture", and Clough states "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."

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 megaphones are this big and our megaphone is this big . We don't control that. And when it gets out of control, you can't get it back.

— G. Wayne Clough

Clough states "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."

Response from artists

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

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 SFMOMA and Tate Modern, scheduled showings of the removed work.

On December 2, 2010, protesters against the supposed "censorship" (there was no censorship; the artist was not prevented from creating or dissseminating his work; the issue was whether or not publicly funded institutions should be used as a venue or means of dissemination) marched from the Transformer Gallery, to the National Portrait Gallery. The art work was projected on the building. On December 5, Michael Blasenstein and Michael Dax Iacovone were detained and barred from the gallery for holding leaflets. On December 9, National Portrait Gallery Commissioner James T. Bartlett resigned in protest. The artist A. A. Bronson sought to withdraw his art from the exhibit, with support from the lending institution, the National Gallery of Canada, unsuccessfully as of December 20. The curators appeared at a forum at the New York Public Library. A protest was held from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. On December 15, a panel discussion was held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. On December 20, a panel discussion was held at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center. On January 20, 2011, the Center of Study of Political Graphics held a protest at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. Secretary Clough issued a statement standing by the decision, spoke at a Town Hall Los Angeles meeting, and appeared at a public forum in April 26–27, 2011. 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.

Collective Exhibitons

  • 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.

Films

  • Postcards From America - a non-linear biography of David Wojnarowicz (Steve McLean, director)

Critical studies and adaptations

  • 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).
  • David Wojnarowicz : Tongues of Flame, edited by Barry Blinderman, 1990, ISBN 094558155
  • Fire in the Belly The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz Cynthia CARR (2012) St Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-596-91533-6

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. Rowin, Michael Joshua (December 30, 2010). "David Wojnarowicz's A Fire in My Belly Comes to L.A." LA Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
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  4. "David Wojnarowicz at P.P.O.W. and Roth Horowitz". findarticles.com. 2005. Retrieved February 20, 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. See Wojnarowicz v. American Family Association, 745 F.Supp 130 (1990).
  6. See case summary on ArtUntitled.com .
  7. "Obituaries: David Wojnarowicz". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 25 July 1992.
  8. Sorkin, Jenni (March 2008), "Finding the Right Darkness", frieze, no. 113, retrieved May 16, 2010
  9. Wojnarowicz's Children: Artworks Inspired by the Controversial, and Revered, Artist ARTINFO.com
  10. Rooney, Kara L. (2011). "DAVID WOJNAROWICZ: Spirituality". The Brooklyn Rail. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Jacqueline Trescott (1990-04-21). "After Smithsonian exhibit's removal, banned ant video still creeps into gallery". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  12. ^ Trescott, Jacqueline (January 19, 2011). "Clough defends removal of video". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  13. Trescott, Jacqueline (2010-11-30), "Ant-covered Jesus video removed from Smithsonian after Catholic League complains", Washington Post, retrieved 2010-11-30
  14. "Smithsonian Q&A Regarding the "Hide/Seek" Exhibition" (PDF). 7 December 2010. p. 2. Retrieved 14 Dec 2010.
  15. Cooter, Holland (2010-12-10), "As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix, Dead Artist Is Assailed Again", New York Times, retrieved 2010-12-14 }}
  16. "Museum removes portrait of crucifix covered in ants". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2010-12-02.
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  22. "Fire in their belly". The Economist. 2010-12-13.
  23. ^ Taylor, Kate (January 18, 2011). "Smithsonian Chief Defends Withdrawal of Video". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
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  27. Dave itzkoff (December 2, 2010). "Pulled from National Portrait Gallery, Video Emerges Elsewhere in Washington". The New York Times.
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  33. "Arts Post - Protestors banned from Smithsonian after playing video on iPad". Voices.washingtonpost.com. 2010-04-13. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  34. "Portrait Gallery Censorship: Can you REALLY be 'banned for life' from the Smithsonian?", TBDArts, December 6, 2010
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  38. Taylor, Kate (2010-12-15). "Exhibit's Curators Criticize Controversial Art's Removal". The New York Times.
  39. 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. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  40. Rosenbaum, Lee (2010-12-21). ""Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Useful Policy for the "Hide/Seek" Show at National Portrait Gallery". Huffington Post.
  41. Wallin, Yasha (December 21, 2010). "Hide/Seek Protest in New York". Art in America. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  42. "Hundreds in NYC Protest Hide/Seek Censorship". Band of Thebes. December 20, 2010. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  43. Kennicott, Philip (2010-12-16). "Video outcry flares anew". The Washington Post.
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  45. "HIDE/SPEAK – An evening with David C. Ward Historian, National Portrait Gallery; Curator, Hide/Seek". The Theater J Blog. December 16, 2010. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
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  55. Experts debate Smithsonian's response to critics

External links

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