David Wojnarowicz

Red Bank, United States · b. 1954 — d. 1992

A prominent figure of the East Village art scene in New York during the 1980s, David Wojnarowicz produced paintings, photographs, installations, performances, and experimental films that fused the aesthetics of the punk-music scene and street culture with a personal, political activism. Distinguished by raw expressions of rage and personal longing, his work from this period confronted the inequalities and disenfranchisement of people living with HIV and AIDS. In 1992, The New York Times critic Michael Kimmelman identified Wojnarowicz as “one of the most influential artists of the 1980s.” Toward the end of his life, Wojnarowicz turned to writing, photography, and performance. Exemplifying this period is Untitled (One Day This Kid…) [https://www.artic.edu/artworks/159822/untitled-one-day-this-kid] (1990–1), in which a picture of the artist as a child is surrounded by a fierce written critique of American political and social systems that sustain a culture of homophobia. Indeed, Wojnarowicz is widely recognized for the strength of his artistic expression both in the visual arts and as a writer, through the publication of journal excerpts, short stories, and autobiographical essays. Wojnarowicz died of AIDS in 1992 at the age of 38.