HISTORY KEEPS ME AWAKE AT NIGHT

Published by Whitney Museum of American Art | July 17, 2018
Hardcover | 384 pages | 12.3 x 9.3 x 1.5 in (31 x 23.5 x 3.8 cm)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0300221886
Condition: Brand New

A definitive and visually striking monograph on David Wojnarowicz (1954–1992), one of the most fiercely original and politically urgent artists to emerge from the New York art scene of the 1980s. History Keeps Me Awake at Night offers a comprehensive survey of Wojnarowicz’s multidisciplinary practice, spanning painting, photography, installation, film, performance, and writing.

First exhibited in raw, underground spaces in the East Village, Wojnarowicz’s work confronted issues of identity, marginalization, and the devastating impact of the AIDS crisis of which he was both a chronicler and a victim. His art channels rage and tenderness in equal measure, making visible the political violence of silence and erasure.

Published by the Whitney Museum of American Art, this volume includes critical essays by David Breslin, Julie Ault, Gregg Bordowitz, C. Carr, Marvin Taylor, and Hanya Yanagihara, who collectively reassess Wojnarowicz’s place in art history beyond simplistic labels such as “queer,” “East Village,” or “neo-expressionist.” The book also offers in depth analyses of specific works and insights into the artist’s process and archives.

Essential for collectors, curators, and scholars of contemporary art, queer history, and activist aesthetics, this monograph is a landmark tribute to an uncompromising voice.