Art & the AIDs Crisis: The Work of David Wojnarowicz 

By Sorcha Keeve

The AIDS epidemic, annihilating the queer community in the 1980’s, was undeniably much more than an international medical emergency. Jason A. Smith scrutinizes the definition of the AIDS crisis in Keith Haring, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Wolfgang Tillmans, and the AIDS Epidemic: The Use of Visual Art in a Health Humanities Course, quoting Paula Treichler, ‘The AIDS epidemic is simultaneously an epidemic of a transmissible lethal disease and an epidemic of meanings or signification’ [1]. In this way, AIDS was equally associated with protest, loss and rage as it was with a diagnosis. David Wojnarowicz embodied this in his work, delving into artwork that memorialised close companions, concurrently attempting to cope with the burden of devastation. Wojnarowicz focused on the harsh reality of the virus using photography, subsequently reaching a universal audience through his work. He held an innate talent for transforming private losses into the public. Through viewing his work today, we are invited to grasp core concepts of mortality, grief and suffering — to look at those who suffered, to feel their pain and to see them as human.

Untitled (Peter Hujar) by David Wojnarowicz encapsulates the art of memorialising a loved one. This series of photographs carefully documents Peter Hujar, a close friend and former lover of the artist, as he died of AIDS on 26 November 1989. Wojnarowicz photographed Hujar’s face, hands and feet, ultimately searching for “the strange sense of trying to capture something familiar in a body that has already left” [2]. The image taken of Hujar’s face depicts whispers of remaining pain — his eyes dull and barely open, his mouth agape, and the weight of his body creating deep crinkles on the pillow he rests upon. All of these key features indicate a soul once pre-existing; now just a shell. There is a clear desire to protect the reality of the destruction of AIDS in these photographs. Wojnarowicz himself discusses the theoretical importance of portraying reality in XRAYS FROM HELL: POSTCARDS FROM AMERICA, explaining how accuracy in depiction enables a sense of validation when the ‘reality’ portrayed is of a diverse nature. In this way, it is undeniable that framing Hujar in such a dark yet realistic way holds the intention of gifting outsiders the ability to comprehend such sheer horror.

Douglas Crimp’s “Mourning and Militancy” gives important context to Wojnarowicz’s desire to memorialise Hujar in Untitled (Peter Hujar). Crimp examines the concept of grief in relation to AIDS through comparison with Freud’s essay “Mourning and Melancholia”. He suggests that mourning and militancy can be intertwined in a bid for agency regarding the AIDS crisis, and looks into Freud’s essay to gain a psychological understanding of the substantial loss that the epidemic caused. Crimp furthers his theory that mourning and militancy are combined in relation to AIDS by proposing the idea that the desire for activism can derive from the inner conflict one experiences through the course of mourning. “For many gay men dealing with AIDS deaths, militancy might arise from conflicts within mourning itself” [3]. On one hand, there is a pressure to overcome grief and move on, yet on the other, there is the powerful fear that the person who is grieving will meet the same fate as the one they have lost. The deeper inner dialogue prevalent here explains more about the complexity of grief than external reaction ever will. I would argue that this theory can be directly linked to Wojnarowicz’s own writings in “POSTCARDS FROM AMERICA: XRAYS FROM HELL”. Wojnarowicz openly discusses a new meaning of mourning through witnessing Hujar’s death — “I suddenly resist comfort” [4]. Witnessing such a horror, alongside being recently diagnosed himself, drove Wojnarowicz to turn “private grief into something public” (Wojnarowicz, 1989) in order to create agency, as evident in Untitled (Peter Hujar). This relates to Crimp’s theory of mourning and militancy — it is one’s personal dealings with grief that enact them to strive for action. 

We often forget the substantial loss that queer people experienced during this period of time. Not only did they lose their family, their partners and friends — the majority lost themselves, whether they survived or not. Wojnarowicz depicting death in one of the harshest formats is a strong reminder for us today to remember, to love and to protect one another. There is still a stigma surrounding AIDS, despite the fact that medications now exist — such as PrEP — which enable HIV to be undetectable and untransmissible. We are incredibly lucky to live and love freely — but we must never forget what these people experienced. Their hearts, strength and beauty deserve to be forever remembered by us all. They are the backbone of the queer community and should be treated as such.

[1] Smith, J.A. (2018) ‘Keith Haring, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Wolfgang Tillmans, and the AIDS epidemic: The use of visual art in a Health Humanities Course’, Journal of Medical Humanities, 40(2), pp. 181–198.  

[2] Charnley, T. (2021) How David Wojnarowicz’s photographs helped me overcome my grief, ELEPHANT. Available at: https://elephant.art/how-david-wojnarowiczs-photographs-helped-me-overcome-my-grief-17052021/  

[3] Crimp, D. (1989) ‘Mourning and Militancy’ 

[4] Wojnarowicz, D. (1987). ‘POSTCARDS FROM AMERICA: XRAYS FROM HELL’, Witnesses: Against Our Vanishing