Berry's David Wojnarowicz Talk

a Day WITHOUT Art

by Ryan Neubauer

David looks so cool.

Berry Blinderman’s talk on David Wojnarowicz was incredible. Though in class we already had talked a little bit about him in class. This talk was a little bit more in depth about him especially his child hood. David’s childhood wasn’t all cupcakes and rainbows. Berry said, “He had a horrible dad who was just plain psychotic and he spent most of his adolescence out wondering the streets.” Most of people who grew up with a broken family typically grow up to be horrible people. David didn’t grow up to be a horrible person but he grew up to be an aspiring artist and activist. To have such a person growing up in a horrible home where his family was extremely broken, then having a this beacon of hope.  Another thing Berry said, “He was a spiritual person, in a time that artist said didn’t exist.”

Lions, Tigers, and Bears Oh My!

So David went to where the entire gay hookup places and painted cows around the walls of the building. He was always going around and drawing on things, always putting his work in places he knows it was getting taken down. David was a great guy, his work used something that already had print stuff on it.

Scumbags more like dick bags.

Smile and wave, said the queen.

Then the AIDS crisis hit everywhere, it hit his mentor and his mentor passed away. He was in a fight with the government and even the churches. The churches offered a place where you can pray the gay away or offer protection in churches. All of the artist at the time putting out work that goes against the government and religion. The whole art community was furious with what is going on in the world. They were all angry at Ronald Regan, who was president at the time and he did nothing, and churches.  Regan did nothing about the AIDS crisis he was just a face of the country at the time. Just like the Queen of England, she just smiles and waves.

Queer in Normal

Then he came to Normal, Illinois and that was an experience. He came to Normal and had a show in CVA 110. This show got a lot of attention all around the area and got in trouble as well. When they sent out catalog they were getting all sorts of mail from the area. Berry said, “The president of the school was getting all sorts of mail and said I don’t care what they say this artwork is staying up.” It was a funny moment because normally people in higher power were on the opposite end of the board and didn’t allow something so open to remain up. 

It stays!

They were sent a letter from Congress, Newspapers were printing out articles, and outrages from parties who were against using religious figures in art. It was a spectacle of the generation here in Normal, people being “offended” by this one piece of artwork. There were some many works that could be interpreted as way worse than this Jesus one.

Oh my God I'm so offended.