David Wojnarowicz was an American artist who utilized many forms of art to advocate for civil rights and homosexual identification. His piece named Untitled (One Day, This Kid) was something that he had worked on towards the end of his life. At the center of the piece is an image of David Wojnarowicz during his days as an innocent youth. However, surrounding the picture are a slew of sentences that detail the child’s future experiences as he begins to discover his true identity. This combination of imagery and text evidently appeals to the audience’s sense of pathos and ethos. As the viewer identifies this innocent child in front of them, they are instantly forced to correlate such harsh experiences to a supposedly gleeful, innocent child. After reading intense phrases such as “One day this kid will experience all this activity … [that] will compel him to submit to silence or invisibility” or “when he begins to talk, men who develop a fear of this kid will attempt to silence him with strangling … and immolation of fire,” the audience will ultimately evoke emotions of sympathy and sadness for the grueling experiences he had to endure simply due to his sexual orientation. Wojnarowicz’s text can resonate with today’s political and social concerns by serving as a piece of art that exposes the harsh reality that society subjects to those that are considered “different.” As much as society has progressed since the creation of this piece (1988-89), there still exist countless individuals that have experienced a similar upbringing due to their sexual orientation or any form of strife related to being a “social oddity.” As seen with Wojnarowcz’s artwork, art can serve as the bridge connecting between the past and present. While artworks can depict the social and political atmosphere of that era, they can be cross-referenced and compared to modern times to see just how drastically different or similar the situation is. Furthermore, the perception of the artwork can serve as a learning lesson or a moment to feel empowered.
2 thoughts on “Blog 5”
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I found it really interesting your comment on how “art can serve as the bridge connecting between the past and present” as we get an insight of that era, especially in regards to their social and political climate, and can compare them to today. Especially with the art piece “Untitled”, I thought that the idea was very true and relevant.
Powerful analysis: “they are instantly forced to correlate such harsh experiences to a supposedly gleeful, innocent child.”