David Wojnarowicz Book

This is a brilliant place to start for any one who wishes to know more about the life and work of David Wojnarowicz.

I have some of his memoirs and writings but I wanted to know more about his art. This volume brings his art (photography and paintings) together with some of his writing and includes essays written about him by his close friends and people who knew him. In this way the volume presents a picture of the life of Wojnarowicz and explains the thinking behind his art. It is a fitting tribute to someone who died so young and it also enables easy access to his art.

Together everything makes a profound statement about his life and the way in which he spoke out during the AIDS crisis using his art to speak prophetically about justice and power in American society. He had deep insight into the way power is held and used by institutions and the way in which people are pushed to the margins by such institutions.

It took me time to read through this book but it isn't a book to be rushed. I think it is right to read it in a contemplative way so as to learn from it. I now feel that I am better prepared to engage with some of Wojnarowicz's writings.

I have given this book five stars but really it is the kind of book that stands apart from any rating system. No rating system is truly worthy of it. It is a volume of writing and art that I will revisit once I have finished his journals. Well worth the purchase price and a book which examines the underbelly of our societies not just in America but all of the global North.