Description:
black and white image of young boy with short hair wearing open collared plaid shirt surrounded by text; queer artist
Label Text:
David Wojnarowicz was a major figure among the group of artists active on New York's Lower East Side who came to prominence during the 1980s, and an important force in the development of cultural activist art during that period. Working in many divergent styles and media, Wojnarowicz produced a very focused and cohesive body of work that speaks succinctly of its time (the rise and recognition of the AIDS crisis in 1980s America), while also addressing timeless issues: the repression of sexual identity and expression, the societal discipline and regulation of the human body and human desire, and links among sex, violence, and death.
Untitled (One day this kid. . .) embodies the intersection of these issues. The hopeful smiling childhood portrait of the artist stands in stark contrast to the pervasive text that describes a bleak fate in which he will be the victim of social conditions out of his control. The issues addressed in Wojnarowicz's work are more than generalized illustrations of how societal institutions affect individuals. They are specific examples of how the artist, himself an HIV-positive gay man, experienced repression and violence in his own life.
Established in 2002, the Dorius/Spofford Fund was created by Smith College in order to support programs dealing with issues of citizenship, censorship, creativity, and contemporary political and social repression associated with sexual identity and expression.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+2003.4 |
