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The Newspaper as National Voodoo: A Brief History of the U.S.A.

David Wojnarowicz
1986
acrylic, spray paint, and collage on wood
67 1/2 x 79 5/16 in. (171.45 x 201.51 cm)
During his short yet prolific career, David Wojnarowicz worked in writing, painting, photography, film, music, performance, and installation. Unapologetically making art about homosexuality during the peak of the AIDS crisis in New York, Wojnarowicz exposed the marginalization and suppression of a stigmatized community. As a self-taught artist, Wojnarowicz created an iconography that is at once personal and universal. His work as an artist is inseparable from his work as an activist, in which he aimed to bring light to people forced to live in the shadows of society, namely homosexuals and the victims of AIDS. More than twenty years after his untimely death, Wojnarowicz’s work continues to elicit strong reactions and provoke censorship.