Wojnarowicz met Peter Hujar in 1980. They were briefly lovers, but the relationship soon transitioned and intensified into a friendship that defied categorization. The two frequently made artworks using the other as subject. Twenty years Wojnarowicz’s senior, Hujar was a photographer and a known figure in the New York art world, esteemed for his achingly beautiful, technically flawless portraits. At the time of their meeting, Wojnarowicz was still finding his way. It was Hujar who convinced him that he was an artist and, specifically, encouraged him to paint—something Wojnarowicz had never done. After Hujar’s death in 1987 due to complications from AIDS, Wojnarowicz would claim him as “my brother, my father, my emotional link to the world.”
Peter Hujar (1934–1992), David Wojnarowicz (Village Voice “Heartsick: Fear and Loving in the Gay Community”), 1983
This photograph of Wojnarowicz with his head bowed appeared on the cover of the June 28, 1983, edition of The Village Voice. It accompanied the article “Heartsick: Fear and Loving in the Gay Community” by Richard Goldstein. At the time of publication, very little was known about HIV and AIDS, including how it spread. Goldstein wrote: “If one were to devise a course of action based on incontrovertible evidence alone, there would be no conclusion to draw. Should I screen out numbers who look like they’ve been around? Should I travel to have sex? Should I look for lesions before I leap? How do I know my partner doesn’t have the illness in its (apparently protracted) dormant stage?” By the end of 1983, there were 2,118 reported AIDS-related deaths in the United States.
David Wojnarowicz (1954–1992), Untitled (Green Head), 1982. Acrylic on Masonite, 48 × 96 in. (121.9 × 243.8 cm). Collection of Hal Bromm and Doneley Meris. Image courtesy the Estate of David Wojnarowicz and P.P.O.W, New York
David Wojnarowicz (1954–1992), Untitled (Green Head), 1982
David Wojnarowicz, Peter Hujar Dreaming/Yukio Mishima: Saint Sebastian, 1982. Acrylic and spray paint on Masonite, 48 × 48 in. (121.9 × 121.9 cm). Collection of Matthijs Erdman. Image courtesy the Estate of David Wojnarowicz and P.P.O.W, New York
David Wojnarowicz (1954–1992), Peter Hujar Dreaming/Yukio Mishima: Saint Sebastian, 1982
In this painting from 1982, Wojnarowicz composes a meditation on male desire. His friend and mentor Peter Hujar stretches across the bottom, reclining with his eyes closed, apparently dreaming the scene above. An image of the Japanese author Yukio Mishima (1925–1970) masturbating dominates the center of the composition; it is inspired by the writer’s description of his first masturbatory experience, initiated by a reproduction of a Renaissance painting of Saint Sebastian. The torso of the Christian martyr—young, statuesque, and pierced with arrows—rises above, a glowing aura linking him to the night sky and offering him up as an icon of queerness.
