Zakar–Contemporary Art: Barry on World AIDS Day: Wojnarowicz and Bloomington/Normal Art History

[1 Dec]

AIDS awareness and activism is part of the day to day for Barry. Some of his closest friends and colleagues have been affected over the years, and he continues to support the voices of people of people that have passed too soon. He told me afterward that he wanted his talk to remind and educate people in this community that Bloomington-Normal has a rich history and connection to the art world at large. Members of the art collective were working extremely hard to make this an event following a long line of outspoken artists and shows held in this space that respond to and challenge contemporary issues.

Barry's hat among sound equipment following the events of the day.

With that, I make this post. Not only did the BNA Collective have its first show in a public space, but Barry Blinderman contributed some reflections in congruence with World AIDS Day, Day Without Art, and as the keynote for the pop-up show. Recent class conversations have questioned the influence and importance of institutional art, including the arts in higher education. I was not surprised to hear, upon walking in, that Barry was making this distinction with Wojnarowicz: "David never went to art school but he certainly went to museums." Barry chronicled some of his early inspirations, such as the collaborative show Pier 34 in NYC, along with a recurring motif of commodity in creation. In essence, part of Wojnarowicz's impact comes from his instinctual impulses in responding to all areas of life, particularly the intimate and personal details of his own identity.

Pictured left to right: installation shot of an ox– a common motif David used involving commodities– Untitled (Sirloin Steaks)–1983.

The ox mural was recreated at multiple shows, and gave me some crucial insight: for David, pieces did not have to involve entirely new subject matter, but rather often recycled sets of images. This approach allowed for the profusion of appropriation in his work, along with a unique language involving muses through portraiture or themes through icons. Much like Haring, Barry will comment, Wojnarowicz crafted a language of his own. Complex collages of portraiture and figuration was in fact his most powerful tools. Intensely self-referential and bordering manic, David's work is a constant barrage of sensuous experience, by each association of the word. As Barry went on, he came to a photograph of the installation Tongues of Flame that was in this room and paused briefly: "I always have thought that the boy in flames is like a self portrait of him, of a man running too fast." Barry is able to provide these glimpses of David that hold more weight than other art historians simply because he is making a comment on David's disposition, which extends beyond his work.

Unidentified diptych painting by Wojnarowicz

In fact, Barry got to know David even more so after leaving East Village: "David lived here three years [...] he had never stayed or been to a university before." Apparently Wojnarowicz stayed in a studio apartment in downtown Bloomington. This was his first time in a college town, and as short as it may have been, David's time spent in Bloomington-Normal sounds like it was generative for his work. It is compelling and invigorating to think about such a well-known artist responding to local characteristics of this place in his art. Barry noted that, "When I put my hands on your body" originates from a trip to the Dickson mounds in Lewiston, Illinois. I must say, though, that like David Foster Wallace's perception in contemporary literature, the memory of Wojnarowicz being here must be bittersweet for those that knew him. Now a giant in the world of 80s/90s visual arts, Wojnarowicz never shied away from his identity as a gay man living with HIV. An influential proponent for ACT UP, David's work is emblematic of a man thoughtful about the nature of his outcast in society. Many of the works shown demonstrate at once the suffering and the celebration of his liminal lot in life.

Detail of Fuck You Faggot Fucker–1984 or Untitled (Map)–1990.

David was nearing the threshold of his life upon moving here around the time of the show. Barry remembers after playing a clip of narration that, "When he came and spoke here it was just like this, [he was] bellowing and sick." He was a sick man, and yet Barry noted that anytime David spoke during his life, people did not forget what he said because he had that sort of presence. And that was the most moving part of the afternoon, that this show held a presence for the lives of the people among us.