Understanding David Wojnarowicz: Reading Questions
a) Who were David Wojnarowicz and Arthur Rimbaud? What was their relationship? Compare their lives.
b) Pick two images which you think are particularly striking or effective. Discuss them, explaining what they convey to you about D.W.’s experience of being young and down and out in New York City. c) How does the story told in these pictures end? Why does D.W. choose that ending? d) D.W. states that he was interested in “making and preserving an authentic version of history” that would not just represent him, but survive him. Does he succeed? Explain. |
SCROLL DOWN TO LOOK AT PICTURES OF WOJNAROWICZ'S ART.
If you would like to know more about him, you can check out this magazine article or this review of a book about him too.
If you would like to know more about him, you can check out this magazine article or this review of a book about him too.
Who was Arthur Rimbaud? He was a very young, very gifted poet who led a wild life. Here is a very interesting, article in the New Yorker about him. He was so brilliant and so rebellious. It is really fascinating. If you want the "quick and dirty" version, here is the Wikipedia entry. |
In the article, it is suggested that Wojnarowicz was inspired by Ernest Pignon-Ernest's street art that celebrated Rimbaud's 100th birthday. In it he used the famous portrait of Rimbaud's face, but put it on top of a drawing of the body of a young homeless man.
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Art by David Wojnarowicz
Fire in My Belly
This is a video by Wojnarowicz that was censored and caused a lot of the outrage. The original version was silent. This one is has music from Diamanda Galas who also became an AIDS activist after she lost her brother to the disease. She is pretty intense. Read more about her here.