Learning Series Lecture: The Weight of the Pre-Invented World
Wed, Aug 1, 2018
5:30–6:30 pm
David Wojnarowicz (1954–1992), Untitled (Burning House), 1982. Spray paint on paper, 23 15/16 × 17 7/8 in. (60.8 × 45.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Print Committee 2010.87.1. Image © Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
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Floor 3, Theater
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“Architecture, in its essence, is very much about power.”
—Carrie Mae Weems
“I’m trying to lift off the weight of the pre-invented world so I can see what’s underneath it all.”
—David Wojnarowicz
In this talk, teaching fellow Joshua Lubin-Levy will consider depictions of land and urban space in the art of David Wojnarowicz (1954–1992) through the lens of site and site-specificity. The discussion will also address themes from Pacha, Llaqta, Wasichay: Indigenous Space, Modern Architecture, New Art, an exhibition of work by seven contemporary artists exploring Indigenous thinking about the built environment. Galvanized by his position as an outsider—poor, queer, HIV-positive—Wojnarowicz created a visual vocabulary of buildings, maps, and other motifs that function as symbols for the mainstream political institutions and cultural norms which he sought to critique. Drawing centrally on his concept of the pre-invented world, this lecture will explore the idea of mapping a queer relationship to the present.
Option 1: Wednesday, August 1
5:30–6:30 pm
Option 2: Sunday, September 9
12–1 pm
Option 3: Saturday, September 29
3–4 pm
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