Fire in the Belly

by Cynthia Carr

to every member of Congress, enclosing a reproduction of Piss Christ Robert Hobbs, “Andres Serrano: The Body Politic,” Andres Serrano: Works, 1983–1993 (Philadelphia: Institute Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania) 1994, pp. 17–43.

  “the courage to stand against such bigotry. I hope so” “Reverend Donald Wildmon, letter concerning Serrano’s Piss Christ, April 5, 1989,” Culture Wars: Documents, ed. Bolton, p. 27.

  “he is taunting the American people” “Debate in Senate over the NEA … May 18, 1989,” Ibid., p. 30.

  considered using it in ITSOFOMO He wrote “tape of conversation w/Steve Woj” on the script labeled “visual notes” Fales 3G, 6, 284.

  “could blow their budget out of the water!” William Honan, “Congressional Anger Threatens Arts Endowment’s Budget,” New York Times, June 20, 1989.

  “Mapplethorpe’s work would never be looked at in its own right” Grace Glueck, “Art on the Firing Line,” New York Times, July 9, 1989.

  “explicit homoerotic pornography and child obscenity” “Debate in Senate over Helms Amendment … July 26, 1989, Culture Wars: Documents, ed. Bolton, p. 76.

  “depictions of some people’s sexuality” DW to Newsday in Fales Series 2, Box 3, Folder 19.

  David’s piece in the Journal of Contemporary Art Zinsser’s co-editor, Philip Pocock, was actually the person who solicited the piece from David.

  “break my chains self imposed or otherwise” Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 1, 21.

  “Sometimes the stars in sky make my head hurt” Fales 10A, Videotape O92.0009.

  “a little lighter in the rotation?” Fales 10A, Videotape O92.00015.

  “trying new forms, new feelings and emotions” Sylvère Lotringer, “Marion Scemama,” in A Definitive History, ed. Ambrosino, p. 133.

  The cat on his lap actually looked quite attentive Fales 10A, Videotape O92.00019.

  “tape of me angry or talking about death. Rejected her” Fales 4, 7, 13.

  did not want to be in touch with her anymore Sylvère Lotringer, “Marion Scemama,” in A Definitive History, ed. Ambrosino, p. 139.

  “that it could have been different for you” Fales 2, 3, 19.

  “I wouldn’t want to contribute to unhinging that” Author’s interviews with DW in January 1990.

  “yet I don’t want to get close enough to find out” Ibid.

  “Mom, I have a lot of mixed feelings towards my relationship with you” DW to Dolores, November 1, 1989, loose pages inside Fales 1, 1, 20.

  “while sizing up each other’s mortality” This short film can be seen at http://www.pzfoundation.org/philzwickler/film/fear.html.

  create their own images for “Telling Yourself” Fales 3F, 6, 266.

  Needle Nightmare It’s not clear whether Zwickler considered this film finished. It can be viewed at http://www.pzfoundation.org/philzwickler/film/index.html.

  21 Witnesses

  “known to cause birth defects” http://articles.latimes.com/1985-12-10/

  news/mn-15459_1_enters-senate-race.

  “what homosexuality really is” Robert W. Stewart, “Dannemeyer Causes Flap in Congress by Describing Gay Sex,” Los Angeles Times, July 25, 1989.

  “truly damaging” in preventing the spread of the virus Duncan Campbell, “AIDS as an Election Issue,” New Scientist, January 21, 1988.

  “oversight” of choices made by grantees Robert Atkins, “Stream of Conscience: Andres Serrano’s ‘Piss Christ,’ “ Village Voice, May 30, 1989.

  “favoring taxpayer funding for pornography” William H. Honan, “Compromise Is Proposed on Helms Amendment,” New York Times, September 28, 1989.

  Chaucer would be unacceptable under the Helms amendment Ibid.

  “They tried to make us see” Cookie Mueller, “A Last Letter,” Witnesses: Against Our Vanishing catalog, p. 14.

  “I’D CONTRACTED A DISEASED SOCIETY AS WELL” DW, Close to the Knives, pp. 112, 113–14.

  “Dannemeyer off the empire state building” Ibid., p. 120.

  “the repulsive senator from zombieland” Ibid., p. 119.

  cardinal’s name came up frequently See, for example, the summary of grievances in Crimp with Rolston, Demo Graphics, pp. 131–38, along with DW, Close to the Knives, pp. 125–27.

  banned them from ever entering the cathedral again See http://www.dignityny.org/content/social-justice.

  “thousands to their unnecessary deaths” DW, Close to the Knives, p. 114.

  “a meter which is completely unreal” Blinderman, “The Compression of Time: An Interview with David Wojnarowicz,” Tongues of Flame, ed. Blinderman, pp. 61–62.

  “the worst in living memory” Robert Hughes, “Art: Careerism and Hype Amidst the Image Haze,” Time, June 17, 1985.

  was putting his face on the catalog to get back at him Sylvère Lotringer, “Steve Brown,” in A Definitive History, ed. Ambrosino, p. 40.

  “the gay-bashed, self-hating kid who struggled to survive” Maurice Berger, “Stonewalled at the Museum,” Village Voice, August 18, 1992.

  “the whole future of the public funding of art has come to rest on your shoulders” Susan Wyatt, “Setting the Record Straight: Diary of a Controversy,” in The Cultural Battlefield: Art Censorship and Public Funding, eds. Jennifer A. Peter and Louis M. Crosier (Gilsum, NH: Avocus Publishing, 1995) p. 97.

  no way in hell he would do that Evelyn B. Leong, “An Interview with Susan Wyatt,” Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts, vol. 6, no. 2, September 1994, p. 50.

  “asks me to sign liability waver in case of lawsuits—I say send it to me” Fales Series 7B, Box 14, Folder 57.

  for all “losses, liabilities, damages, and settlements” resulting from his essay Ibid.

  “Susan’s interpretation of our conversation” Robert Atkins, “Black Thursday: Frohnmayer Fiddles, Artists Burn,” Village Voice, November 28, 1989.

  Frohnmayer then asked her to remove NEA credit from the catalog and to print a disclaimer Susan Wyatt, “Setting the Record Straight: Diary of a Controversy,” in The Cultural Battlefield: Art Censorship and Public Funding, eds. Jennifer A. Peter and Louis M. Crosier (Gilsum, NH: Avocus Publishing, 1995), p. 81.

  “pleasant” and “unsurprised by everything” Evelyn B. Leong, “An Interview with Susan Wyatt,” Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts, Summer 1994, p. 53.

  “more problematic than Mapplethorpe’s photos” Frohnmayer, Leaving Town, p. 76.

  “a declaration of weakness” Ibid.

  “Artists Space should relinquish the Endowment’s grant for the exhibition” Frohnmayer to Wyatt, November 3, 1989, in author’s possession.

  “it’s the show itself maybe erotic stuff “ Fales 7B, 14, 57.

  “is the law now also retroactive?” John Marzulli, “Liberal Arts? A SoHo Gallery Fears Backlash,” Daily News, November 8, 1989.

  “There are specific derogatory references in the show to Senator Helms, Congressman Dannemeyer and Cardinal O’Connor which makes it political” William H. Honan, “Arts Endowment Withdraws Grant for AIDS Show,” New York Times, November 9, 1989.

  “I do not consider myself exempt from or above criticism by anyone” William H. Honan, “The Endowment vs. the Arts: Anger and Concern,” New York Times, November 10, 1989.

  “an erosion of the artistic focus” William C. Honan, “Endowment Head Explains Withdrawal of Art Grant,” New York Times, November 14, 1989.

  “Tired of restraint of Susan while bigots speak unrestrained” Fales 7B, 14, 57.

  “you should resign” Frohnmayer, Leaving Town, p. 84.

  “more oppressive and hopeless and depressing” Ibid., p. 83.

  “possible loss of funding” Fales 3A, 5, 163.

  compared David … to Louis Farrakhan Ray Kerrison, “Art Show Assaults O’Connor and Church, But Our Catholic Governor Is Mute,” New York Post, November 22, 1989.

  “hatred against Roman Catholicism” Patrick Buchanan, “Why Subsidize Defamation?” New York Post, November 22, 1989.

 
; “supporting my right of free speech under the First Amendment” DW “to the Dean and whomever else it may concern,” November 22, 1989, in author’s possession.

  “history in such a public way” DW, Close to the Knives, p. 122.

  22 With a Target on His Back

  “To keep silent … is to lose our identities” DW, Close to the Knives, p. 153.

  “The Private Lives of Saints” Fales Series 3A, Box 4, Folders 92 and 93.

  a section that did not air Fales 10A, DVD 092.0434.

  The phrase “Silence = Death” Allen White, “Reagan’s AIDS Legacy: Silence Equals Death,” SFGate.com, June 8, 2004.

  “Dean’s monologue” Fales 3D, 6, 223.

  “It’s not our job to squelch controversy” Elizabeth Hess, “Frohnmayer’s Normal Waterloo?” Village Voice, December 12, 1989.

  “Does it prevent you from hearing anything else I say?” Elizabeth Hess, “Queer in Normal,” Village Voice, February 13, 1990.

  “a unique educational experience for our immediate audience and people all over the country” “Final Descriptive Report: David Wojnarowicz, Tongues of Flame University Galleries of Illinois State University NEA Special Exhibition Grant #89-4442-0376,” in author’s possession.

  he did not have to comment on it Frohnmayer, Leaving Town, p. 114.

  “Is This How You Want Your Tax Dollars Spent?” “American Family Association … February 13, 1990,” in Culture Wars: Documents, ed. Bolton, p. 151.

  “hardly a blasphemous concept” Frohnmayer, Leaving Town, p. 121.

  “What gesture of hands or mind can stop my death?” Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 1, 22, and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 229.

  “Monte committed suicide about January 18, 1990. His dad” Fales 8B, 17, Audiotape 092.0280.

  “throwing themselves into the varied arms of death” DW, Close to the Knives, p. 225.

  “Take pictures of me dead” Fales 8B, 17, Audiotape 092.0270.

  “being human or not being human” Fales 8B, 16, Audiotape 092.0240.

  “acknowledge it and move on” DW, Close to the Knives, p. 241.

  “Does that make them less obscene?” Kim Masters, “NEA-Funded Art Exhibit Protested: Wildmon Mails Sexual Images to Congress,” Washington Post, April 21, 1990.

  “Smell the flowers while you can” DW, Close to the Knives, pp. 271–72.

  “a door to all that I’ve been speaking of “ Ibid., pp. 270–71.

  “this sensation of life in an uninfected body” Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 1, 22, and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 224.

  “Holly Hughes is a lesbian and her work is very heavily of that genre” C. Carr, “Artful Dodging: The NEA Funds the Defunded Four,” Village Voice, June 15, 1993.

  “aggressively homosexual” Frohnmayer, Leaving Town, p. 151–52.

  “reluctant to think much about giving it up” DW to Zimmerman, May 21, 1990, in author’s possession.

  intense at certain periods Fales 7A, 12, 2 and 2, 3, 27.

  “as generous a gift to AFA as possible” Fales 7B, 14, 64.

  Motions for dismissal and change of venue David Wojnarowicz, Plaintiff v. American Family Association and Donald E. Wildmon, Defendants, United States Court District Court for the Southern District of New York, 90 Civ. 3457 (WCC).

  “middle ground that would appease everyone” Frohnmayer, Leaving Town, p. 176.

  23 “Desperate to Bring a Light”

  “and life was going on around me” DW to Glantzman, July 7, 1990, in author’s possession.

  selected the images for this piece Untitled for ACT UP can be seen at http://www.actupny.org/merchandise/index.html.

  letters to the loft board and to his lawyer Fales Series 2, Box 3, Folder 27.

  damages of just one dollar The decision can be read at http://www.artuntitled.com/resource/wojnaro_AFA.html.

  “He was too powerful a force to give up. He wasn’t sick!” Patrick McDonnell’s account can be read at http://the11thmcdonnell.blogspot.com/?zx=3363ab1894f0daae.

  possible class-action lawsuit Josh Meyer, “Drawing the Line: 2 Clerics Face Off Over Exhibit in Battle for the ‘Soul’ of America,” Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1990.

  free from government intrusion http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/doc2.html.

  “works which promote blasphemous and sacrilegious hate material” Eli Teiber, “N.Y Artist’s Work Is the Focus of Suit Against the NEA,” New York Post, August 30, 1990.

  they had suffered “spiritual injury” http://www.csulb.edu/

  ~jvancamp/doc2.html.

  “standing to sue as citizens” Ibid.

  “Your letter was a profound shock to me” in Fales 2, 3, 25.

  arranged to have a storage unit built DW to Ackerman, August 27, 1990, in Fales 2, 3 27, and DW to Ackerman, September 5, 1990, in Fales 7A, 12, 2.

  “on a quieter level” DW to Glantzman, October 1, 1990, in author’s possession.

  “the malevolence of the virus” This translation of À rebours can be found at http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/jkh/r08.html.

  “Destination means death to me” DW, Close to the Knives, p. 62.

  “He may not have planned on staying” Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 2, 28.

  “not waiting a moment longer than necessary?” Ibid.

  24 “Like a Marble Rolling Down a Hill”

  “not actively participating in the perpetuation of human life” Anthony Haden-Guest, “The Art of the Hype,” Vanity Fair, June 1989.

  “all who were offended” “Kostabi Apologizes,” Newsday, May 17, 1989.

  “so much bad art in the world” “Not Sorry,” New York Post, May 26, 1989.

  “I am exactly the opposite of what you think” Fales Series 8B, Box 17, Audiotape 092.0263.

  “compromised the entire show” Tom Hickerson, “Controversy Rages Over Former Blum Exhibit,” Bard Observer, February 22, 1991.

  clothes plus one Gap item Fales Series 2, Box 3, Folder 29.

  first in the series, providing both words and visuals Fales 2, 3, 28.

  “in sometimes disjointed currents” Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 2, 30, and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 235.

  letter from a young writer in Fales 2, 3, 28.

  “deal with issues like my past and my mortality” Ibid.

  The cover would use a detail from Fear of Evolution Fales 2, 3, 31.

  “Death as an aspect of AIDS” Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 2, 30, and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 244.

  a picture of him hooked to an IV with a caption DW, Memories, p. 50.

  “I can’t even fucking let it out” Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 2, 30.

  “It’s something about violence as a distancing tool” DW, Memories, p. 28.

  “disappearing but not fast enough” Ibid., p. 61.

  probably crazy not to cancel this trip Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 2, 30, and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 246.

  “I’m afraid to take my own life right now” Fales 4, 7, 13.

  “how patiently you wait” May 1991 in Fales 1, 2, 30.

  “oh life is so free in America” Ibid.

  “she needed time or something” Ibid. and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 252.

  “I felt a door closing between us” Ibid. and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 253.

  “seems stupid, what it’s all based on” Ibid. and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 256.

  “something has changed” Ibid. and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 255.

  “It never came” Ibid. and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 256.

  “want it somehow to stop” Ibid. and Diaries, ed. Scholder, p. 260.

  “It felt like what I think grace is” June 1, 1991, in Fales 1, 2, 30, and Diaries, ed. Scholder, pp. 263–64.

  25 “Disappearing But Not Fast Enough”

  “Tom in order to get help from him” DW to Glantzman, July 27, 1991, in author’s possession.

  “Marion had misinterpreted what she’d said” Fales Series 2, Box 3, Folder 29.

  “how you s
hare what you know?” Fales 2, 3, 28.

  “wing uttering from the wound” Undated journal entry in Fales 1, 2, 31.

  “Events are lost to me seconds after they take place” Fales 3A, 4, 29.

  Epilogue Throw My Body on the Steps of the White House

  “dump their lifeless form on the front steps” DW, Close to the Knives, p. 122.

  “illusion of the ONE-TRIBE NATION” Ibid., p. 121.

  this final act of empowerment and generosity Information on the political funerals, including film footage, can be found at http://www.actupny.org/diva/polfunsyn.html.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Ambrosino, Giancarlo, ed. David Wojnarowicz: A Definitive History of Five or Six Years on the Lower East Side. Interviews by Sylvère Lotringer. New York: Semiotext(e); Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006.

  Blinderman, Barry, ed. David Wojnarowicz: Tongues of Flame. Normal, IL: University Galleries, Illinois State University, 1990.

  Bolton, Richard, ed. Culture Wars: Documents from the Recent Controversies in the Arts. New York: New Press, 1992.

  Cameron, Dan, curator. East Village USA. Exhibition monograph. New York: New Museum of Contemporary Art, 2004.

  Carr, C. On Edge: Performance at the End of the Twentieth Century. Hanover, NH, and London: Wesleyan University Press and University Press of New England, 1993.

  Crimp, Douglas, with Adam Rolston. AIDS Demo Graphics. Seattle: Bay Books, 1990.

  Dubin, Steven C. Arresting Images: Impolitic Art and Uncivil Actions. New York and London: Routledge, 1992.

  Frohnmayer, John. Leaving Town Alive: Confessions of an Arts Warrior. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

  Hager, Steven. Art After Midnight: The East Village Scene. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986.

  Harris, Melissa, ed. David Wojnarowicz: Brush Fires in the Social Landscape. New York: Aperture Foundation, 1994.

  Hujar, Peter. Portraits in Life and Death. New York: Da Capo Press, 1976.

  Kramer, Larry. Reports from the Holocaust: The Story of an AIDS Activist. Updated and expanded edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.