By: Hannah Bernstein
LREI students have the absolute privilege of living in New York City; a city that has borne some of the most iconic artists and art movements of recent times. By extension, we have access to some of the most well renowned museums in the country. The Whitney Museum is a perfect example. It owns one of the largest collection of contemporary art and focuses particularly on living artists.
Currently, however, the museum is focused on a deceased artist due to the relevance of his work today. The artist in question is David Wojnarowicz, an AIDS victim and activist. He created art in many mediums, including photography, painting, writing and more, often mixing these different forms. The Whitney exhibit titled History Keeps Me Awake at Night shows a wide variety of his work, which looks like it could be created by a group of different artists. This is because Wojnarowicz rejected having a signature style, instead varying his techniques. The only bridge connecting his work is the activism and social commentary that spans the entire collection.
Wojnarowicz began creating work in the 1970s, but rose to prominence in the 80’s during the peak of the AIDS crisis. Wojnarowicz’s work criticized the US government and society at large for their discrimination and lack of action during the AIDS crisis while a shocking number of gay men suffered and died from the disease.
The painting pictured to the left is one of the works shown in the exhibit. It is titled, Americans Can’t Deal With Death and portrays a wilting flower that is overlayed by two black and white photographs as well as text from Wojnarowicz’s essay collection: Close to the Knives. The painting is highly political, criticizing the government for its apathy during the Aids Crisis.
The mixed media painting shown below is titled, One Day This Kid. The piece appeals to the moral conscience of the viewer with a child at the forefront. The text delves into the difficulties and dangers that the child will later face because of his sexual orientation.
While the exhibit portrays very progressive work, there was still controversy when the exhibit was created. The wall text introducing Wojnarowicz’s work framed AIDS as a historical issue rather than an ongoing crisis. Pictured below, the ACT UP Organization protested which eventually lead to a better worded blurb. Now, the wall text more accurately represent the status of HIV and AIDS, which still causes thousands of people to die each year.
In our current political climate, it is important to appreciate and learn from artists like Wojnarowicz who use their art to enact change, and spread awareness. Wojnarowicz and other similar artists are featured in the Whitney as well as other local museums such as in NYU’s Mamdouha Bobst Gallery and P.P.O.W.
Sources:
https://whitney.org/Exhibitions/DavidWojnarowicz
http://visualaids.org/artists/detail/david-wojnarowicz
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jul/13/david-wojnarowicz-exhibitions-whitney-museum
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/act-up-whitney-museum-david-wojnarowicz-1325891