Wojnarowicz: Radical Queer Artist Remembered

“Is the fact that I may be dying of AIDS in 1989 not political?” asks the late artist David Wojnarowicz in the new documentary film about his life. “Is the fact that I don’t have health insurance and I don’t have access to adequate healthcare not political?”

Wojnarowicz (1954-1992) is remembered in Chris McKim’s new film with the shocking title “Wojnarowicz: F–k You F-ggot F–ker”. The film gets its moniker from a piece the artist displayed in a gallery show just as he was coming to prominence in the 1980s. That piece got its name from a piece of paper he found on the street with the anti-gay slur written on it. He was told that the title was offensive, but he stood his ground and refused to change it. As art critic Carlo McCormick said when he described Wojnarowicz’ style: “I’m not gay as in I love you, I’m Queer as in f— off.”

Throughout his life, Wojnarowicz, who never hid his gayness, walked to the beat of his own drum. That life is now recalled in a film that uses hundreds of hours of taped audio recordings, thus allowing the artist to speak for himself. The film also culls many more hours of Super 8 film, thousands and thousands of photographs, and even Wojnarowicz’ old answering machine messages. The artist almost seems to come back to life.

Wojnarowicz was born in New Jersey, where he was raised by an abusive father. After he moved to New York City with his mother, he ran away from home and became an underaged sex worker. In one of his audio recordings, he recalls kissing a physically repugnant client out of compassion for the man. He’s given extra money, which makes him happy.

A ten-month sojourn to Paris with his sister gets him interested in art, and he begins to create art after he returns to New York. His art is often radical, and he becomes a favorite in New York’s upper crust art circles. He accepts the recognition and money that comes with this, even though he has a disdain for rich white people.

Wojnarowicz never loses his radical spirit. After his closest friend dies of AIDS and he himself is diagnosed as HIV positive, he involves himself with ACT UP, the radical queer activist group which stood up to the government’s indifference to the pandemic. He continues creating art, even taking on Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, a rabidly anti-gay organization.

Wildmon had taken images from Wojnarowicz’s catalog and mailed them to his followers in an attempt to drum up more anti-gay sentiment. As AIDS ravaged his body, Wojnarowicz files suit against Wildmon for copyright infringement. He wins a one-dollar judgment, but Wildmon is also ordered to send a letter to his followers admitting that he misrepresented Wojnarowicz’s work.

Many of Wojnarowicz’s surviving friends were interviewed for the film, but director McKim keeps them offscreen, allowing their voices to be heard over collages of artwork and vintage photographs. The film becomes electrifying as an endless stream of artistic imagery and filmed super 8 images of the artist fills the screen. But one important person from Wojnarowicz’s life does make an appearance in newly shot footage: an aged Tom Rauffenbart, who had been Wojnarowicz’s boyfriend all those years ago.  Now confined to a wheelchair, Rauffenbart makes a tearful visit to the Whitney Museum of Art in New York, which hosted a retrospective showing of Wojnarowicz’s work in 2018. It’s a profoundly moving moment.

Wojnarowicz: F–k You F-ggot F–ker is a long-overdue tribute to an artist who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and who courageously stood up to the injustices of his day. It’s an unforgettable portrait which deserves to be seen. The film was produced by World of Wonder, a production company well known for producing LGBT content. It is now screening at Sie Film Center’s virtual cinema, where it will remain available until May.