Queer in Normal, Normal, IL newspaper, 90's.

A recent show held at the Bloomington-Normal Arts Collective (BNAC) was honorably hosted by Normal's finest, Barry Blinderman. The BNAC held a three-day exhibition - titled, Art for a Change. The show was held on Worlds Aids Day. An epidemic Blinderman is quite passionate to explain to the community. Through the show, Illinois State University recognized current student work and Barry Blinderman, the man who directly found himself in a culture riot in the 90's.

Blinderman is the director of University Galleries in Normal, Illinois, and has been for quite some time. It seems as though Blinderman has been down and around the block a couple of times. He has seen it all. From the traditional art galleries, to the indie culture uncharted. Within his talk at theArt for Changeshow, he focused on the queer culture in the 80's and 90's - which has inspired many artists then and now.

David Wojnarowicz was a branch of the main idea Blinderman had expressed his enthusiasm in. So I, too will expand my views on Wojnarowicz, and direct this post to his direction. Wojnarowicz was an artist and AIDS activist in the 80's. Self taught and ready to stir the air with his roaring mode of communicative art, he did just that in the past and present. I believe that was what Blinderman was expressing through this art show - then and now. How much of the conflicting cultural perception in today's society is a duplication within its existence.

Through Wonjarowicz ambitions, his ability to capture moving, passionate, and perhaps timeless work has been a direct response to his reality. A reality in which you create and created through thoughts and emotions. Nothing is given light unless we shine it there. Wonjarowicz, was diagnosed with AIDS in the late 80's, and passed July 22nd, 1990. While he was labeled with AIDS, a stereotypical sexually transmitted disease for homosexuals, he created political content that needed to be heard. Throughout his career he made pieces that were conceivably hard for some viewers to handle. In 2010 the  removal of his video Fire in My Belly from an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in 2010 created an uproar of explanations and more. In this piece, there are images and sound that are indeed alarming.   

“David’s work continues to resonate with young artists, and provides a space for people, and especially queer artists, to make work.” -  Krystal Grow (AmericanPhotoMag, 2015).

I recognized that the show directly brought up a reoccurring theme within our community. Ultimate division. It never could be more obvious. Gays vs straight, red vs blue, black vs white, male vs female. It is all the same. The works I brought in was the agreement of healing the cure.

For the student show, there were many different kinds of art coming together. However, a majority of the work all had one thing to comment on. The election. A mundane topic in which I hate to participate in because it all seems to reflect is a pissing contest. Mind your p's and q's when trying to converse with someone today. You may upset someone with a contrasting opinion or idea that wasn't theirs. For them, it is something they feel they need to defend so badly because that is all they know and understand. 

Nonetheless, I understood to bring in any type of art into the show. So, I had. I brought in two pieces of work. However, I will explain only one of the paintings. Titled, Untitled. I left the title blank because I wanted ambiguous thought. As the artist, I am only concerned with leaving an idea to the viewer.

Untitled, 12" x 24". Canvas, thread, twine, medical tape, staples, acrylic paint, fire. 

For I was interested in textures, line work, color, and composition. The work is an exploration of emotion and natural function. I used stretch canvas to allow me to rip through the barrier – this is an expression of the tearing of flesh. The bruises simulate the process of healing. The thread and twine are expressions of freedom, comfort, and reconstruction. The staples are a statement of linkage. And the safety pins are represent the past. The colors I chose are directly suggesting flesh. All of the visual components are reflections of repair and improvement through self healing and time. 

By Erika Barber


Link(s):

http://www.americanphotomag.com/revisiting-wojnarowicz-era-conflict-and-change?image=0

http://galleries.illinoisstate.edu/exhibitions/1990/wojnarowicz/index.php

http://www.videtteonline.com/features/queer-in-normal-event-to-tell-story-of-aids-victim/article_80186e46-e341-5949-a214-cee832216cdb.html

A Fire in My Belly, David Wojnarowicz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHRCwQeKCuo