David Wojnarowicz

Controversial Video Finds A New Home At The Museum of Modern Art

Filed under: Art

Last month I wrote about the controversy surrounding the Smithsonian's decision to remove a video by the late artist David Wojnarowicz from the museum's exhibits. The film, "A Fire in My Belly" (1986-87) which depicts an 11-second scene of ants crawling on a crucifix, an image that Wojnarowicz said reflected his experience of being diagnosed with AIDS, came under fire the Catholic League and members of Congress said it was sacrilegious. After the exhibit was taken out protesters took to the steps of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery holding up masks of David Wojnarowicz including images of him with his mouth sewn shut. Galleries and museums around the country showed the video in protest and it popped up on blogs around the world. Wojnarowicz, who died of AIDS in 1992, became a symbol of censorship and the Andy Warhol Foundation announced that it would withold future funding to the Smithsonian unless the video was restored. Shown at right is a planned event in December, when people including artists and free speech activists converge to support the work of David Wojnarowicz in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on December 19, 2010.

The artwork now has a new home. The NY Times reports that the Museum of Modern Art in New York has acquired the complete work, both its original 13-minute version and a separate seven-minute excerpt made by the artist. The video has been added to the museum's current exhibition of contemporary art from the collection, which will remain up until May 9. The MoMA is no stranger to controversy. An exhibit held last spring, Marina Abramovic's retrospective, "The Artist is Present," featured nude performers and led to some extreme behavior from observers/participants.

As a response to the Smithsonian's removal of the video, a Museum of Censored Art has been installed in a trailer outside the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. The museum is showing the video and plans to maintain the Museum of Censored Art through February 13, when the Smithsonian exhibit,"Hide/Seek" that the video was a part of closes.

Tags: a fire in my belly, David Wojnarowicz, moma, Museum of Modern Art, new york city museum, new york city museums, smithsonian institution, video art

Warhol Foundation Withdraws Support Amid Smithsonian Controversy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The often staid Smithsonian has been the site of controversy recently. A video by the late artist David Wojnarowicz was recently removed from the museum's exhibits. The film, "A Fire in My Belly" (1986-87) which depicts an 11-second scene of ants crawling on a crucifix, an image that Wojnarowicz said reflected his experience of being diagnosed with AIDS, came under fire the Catholic League and members of Congress said it was sacrilegious. After the exhibit was taken out earlier this month protesters took to the steps of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery holding up masks of David Wojnarowicz including images of him with his mouth sewn shut.

On Monday, the Andy Warhol Foundation said that it will withhold future funding to the Smithsonian Institution unless the video is restored. The board of the foundation sent a letter to the Smithsonian calling the censorship "unconscionable." Joel Wachs, president of the foundation, wrote that while the Warhol Foundation has been a proud supporter of the current Portrait Gallery exhibit "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture," (the exhibit the video was a part of) but that it can't watch the Smithsonian "bow to the demands of bigots who have attacked the exhibition out of ignorance, hatred and fear." The foundation has given $375,000 over the past three years to various Smithsonian museums, including $100,000 to help fund "Hide/Seek."

Museums, galleries and universities around the country are showing the video and the Association of Art Museum Directors has condemned the Smithsonian's removal of the piece. You can find it online as well.

Tags: A Fire Inside, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, David Wojnarowicz, Smithsonian