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| ABOUT TRaC |
Visual Arts TRaC Fall 2004
David Wojnarowicz exhibition at the P.P.O.W. gallery I can't see David Wojnarowicz's art very well from where I'm standing in the doorway of the P.P.O.W. gallery, but I immediately notice that in addition to seeing his hanging artwork, I'm hearing his artwork as well. No noise combats the angry words emanating from the video in the next room. Maybe these loaded words, aimed at making the intense suffering of homosexuals (gay men, in particular) known, is one of the reasons that none of the people in the gallery are speaking. I'm hearing bits and pieces of the video and seeing what I foolishly believe to be unrelated visuals: David Wojnarowicz's other works. However, I soon discover that the pieces of art hanging persistently on the walls, waiting for me to lock into the rhythm of their vital presentation, are speaking louder than anything else in the gallery could. "all I can feel is the pressure and the need for release," screams Wojnarowicz. These words are repeated, written in the first piece that catches my eye. On canvas, it marries images and text-bits of dollar bills, sperm-like shapes cut from maps, photographs of feet and other body parts accompanying powerful, infuriated red words - loudly accusing those silent in the face of AIDS of being murderers. "texas" and "u.s.a." are not capitalized, though "AIDS", "I" and the first letter of the first word in each sentence is. The red text even cites a senator from "texas" as saying that in order to rid the world of AIDS, all of the homosexuals have to be killed. Through his work, David Wojnarowicz, a homosexual man who contracted AIDS, watched his friends die from it, and was eventually killed by it himself, is arguing against this opinion with every artistic fiber and ability he's got. His plight, and the plight of others like him, pulsates through each piece. A black-and-white photograph of a tiny frog in a man's hand is accompanied by text that questions the impact of death by asking what would happen if "this little guy dies." The cream-colored text that coincides with pieces of a map cut to form an image of two men having sex rages against the indifference of some to the suffering of others. Wojnarowicz's "shot me in my stomach" piece is layered to reflect his layered message. Green, red, white, blue and gray colors, moving from the edges of the paper to the center, provide an intense backdrop for the focal point. The silhouette of a blindfolded, bound man is in the spotlight. On top of the blindfolded man's image is a drawing of a man in an army uniform bearing a gun. Wojnarowicz is showing how society's system is constantly taking shots at him. When I finally move into the next room to watch the video playing, I find that it, too, tells his story of suffering in the shadows of a fatally narrow-minded America. David Wojnarowicz's angry, impassioned art, which employs photography, text, video, and collage, is art with a purpose. It makes its viewer focus on the terrifying problem of AIDS and the suppressed lifestyle of homosexuals in the "u.s.a." and around the world. The art does what all art should do: make the person laying eyes on it think and walk away with a new idea, message, or understanding. Wojnarowicz art shouted at my eyes until I left the gallery, thoroughly impressed and affected by what I've seen. His parting command, "Don't accept murder! Speak up!" remains permanently embedded onto my brain.
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