An epistolary portrait of Wojnarowicz’s formation as an artist and writer through his tender letters to his Parisian lover—with artwork, photographs and ephemera
Pbk, 8.5 x 11 in. / 592 pgs / 186 color / 128 bw. | 9/19/2023 | In stock $40.00
Published by Primary Information. Edited by James Hoff. Text by Cynthia Carr.
This volume collects David Wojnarowicz’s transatlantic correspondence to his Parisian lover Jean Pierre Delage between 1979 and 1982. Capturing a truly foundational moment for Wojnarowicz’s artistic and literary practice, these letters not only reveal his captivating personality—and its concomitant compassion, neuroses and tenderness—but also index the development of the visual language that would go on to codify him as one of the preeminent artists of his generation. Through this collection, readers are introduced to Wojnarowicz’s Rimbaud series, his band 3 Teens Kill 4, the publication of his first photographs, his early friendship with Peter Hujar, his participation in the then-emerging East Village art and music scenes, and the preparations for the publication of his first book. Included with these writings are postcards, drawings, xeroxes, photographs, collages, flyers, ephemera and contact sheets that showcase some of the artist’s iconic images and work, such as the Burning House motif and Untitled (Genet, after Brassai). Beyond these milestones, the book offers a striking portrayal of Wojnarowicz as a 20-something detailing his day-to-day life with the type of unbridled earnestness that comes with his age and the softness of love and longing. This disarming tenderness provides a picture of a young man who is just beginning to find his voice in the world and the love he has discovered in it. Although the two exchanged letters in equal measure, Delage’s correspondences have largely been lost, leaving us with only a revelatory glimpse into the internal world of Wojnarowicz during what turned out to be his formative years. Painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter and activist, David Wojnarowicz was born in Redbank, New Jersey, in 1954 and died of AIDS in New York in 1992. He authored five books, most famously Close to the Knives. Wojnarowicz attained national prominence as a writer and advocate for AIDS awareness and for his stance against censorship. His work is in numerous private and public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, among other institutions.
Published by Aperture. Introduction by Lucy R. Lippard. Text by Vince Aletti, Barry Blinderman, Cynthia Carr, David Cole, Shannon Ebner, Leonard Fink, Karen Finley, Nan Goldin, Félix Guattari, Wade Guyton, Melissa Harris, Elizabeth Hess, Tessa Hughes-Freeland, Peter Hujar, Fran Lebowitz, Sylvère Lotringer, Carlo McCormick, Henrik Olesen, Wendy Olsoff, Adam Putnam, Tom Rauffenbart, James Romberger, Emily Roysdon, Marion Scemama, Gary Schneider, Amy Scholder, Kiki Smith, Andreas Sterzing, Zoe Strauss, Marvin J. Taylor, Lynne Tillman, Wolfgang Tillmans.
David Wojnarowicz's use of photography, often done in conjunction with writing or painting, was extraordinary—as was his way of addressing the AIDS crisis and issues of censorship and homophobia. Brush Fires in the Social Landscape, begun in collaboration with the artist before his death in 1992 and first published in 1994, engaged what Wojnarowicz would refer to as his "tribe" or community. Contributors—from artist and writer friends such as Karen Finley, Nan Goldin, Kiki Smith, Vince Aletti, C. Carr and Lucy R. Lippard, to David Cole, the lawyer who represented him in his case against Donald Wildmon and the American Family Association—together offer a compelling, provocative understanding of the artist and his work. Brush Fires is also the only book that features the breadth of Wojnarowicz's work with photography. Now, on the twentieth anniversary of Brush Fires, when interest in the artist's work has increased exponentially, this expanded and redesigned edition of this seminal publication puts the work in front of an audience all over again while maintaining the integrity of the original. Through the lens of various contributors, the book addresses Wojnarowicz's profound legacy: the relentless censorship and ethical issues, alongside his aesthetic brilliance, courage and influence. David Wojnarowicz was born in Redbank, New Jersey, in 1954 and died of AIDS in New York in 1992. His artwork is in numerous private and public collections, including The Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, among other institutions. The author of five books, Wojnarowicz attained national prominence as a writer and advocate for AIDS awareness, and for his stance against censorship.
PUBLISHER Aperture
BOOK FORMAT Hardcover, 7.25 x 9.25 in. / 240 pgs / illustrated throughout.
PUBLISHING STATUS Pub Date 4/28/2015 No longer our product
DISTRIBUTION Contact Publisher Catalog:
PRODUCT DETAILS ISBN 9781597112949TRADE List Price: $55.00 CAD $65.00
Published by Roth Horowitz, LLC/PPP Editions. Edited by Andrew Roth. Essay by Jim Lewis.
In 1978 David Wojnarowicz took a series of photographs of a man wearing a paper mask bearing the face of Arthur Rimbaud, the French poet. Wojnarowicz was 24 when he shot most of the Rimbaud in New York series, and the urban situations in which he poses the masked figure represent a specific moment in history: post-Stonewall but pre-AIDS, a land of sex, drugs, art, love, and wondrous bohemian existence. When a few pictures from the series were published in the Soho Weekly News in 1980, they were the first of his works to make it into print. This volume reproduces for the first time, the series in its entirety.
PUBLISHER Roth Horowitz, LLC/PPP Editions
BOOK FORMAT Clothbound, 8.75 x 11.5 in. / 108 pgs / 5 color.
PUBLISHING STATUS Pub Date 10/2/2004 No longer our product
DISTRIBUTION D.A.P. Exclusive Catalog: FALL 2004
PRODUCT DETAILS ISBN 9780971548022SDNR30 List Price: $70.00 CAD $85.00
Published by Artspace Books. By David Wojnarowicz.
Not content to be a tremendous photographer, painter, filmmaker, performance artist and activist David Wojnarowicz (1954-92) was also the author of three classic books: Close to the Knives, The Waterfront Journals and Memories That Smell Like Gasoline, now back in print from Artspace. This volume collects four tales--"Into the Drift and Sway," "Doing Time in a Disposable Body," "Spiral" and the title story--interspersed with ink drawings by the artist. "Sometimes it gets dark in here behind these eyes I feel like the physical equivalent of a scream. The highway at night in the headlights of this speeding car speeding is the only motion that lets the heart unravel and in the wind of the road the two story framed houses appear one after the other like some cinematic stage set..." From these opening sentences of the book (in "Into the Drift and Sway"), Wojnarowicz lets loose a salvo of explicit gay sexual reverie harshly lit by the New York cityscape.
David Wojnarowicz: Brush Fires in the Social Landscape
David Wojnarowicz: Rimbaud In New York 1978-79
Memories That Smell Like Gasoline
David Wojnarowicz: Tongues Of Flame