Born September 14, 1954: David Wojnarowicz, Artist & Activist

JESUS IN LOVE
By Rev. Kittredge Cherry

“Zayin” by Douglas Blanchard evokes the suffering of Wojnarowicz, who died of AIDS in 1992.

NEW YORK---David Wojnarowicz is a gay artist, writer and activist whose use of Christian imagery still causes controversy more than two decades after his death. He died of AIDS at age 37 on July 22, 1992. Today interest in Wojnarowicz is surging among LGBTQ scholars and artists. Last year he was the subject of two papers at the American Academy of Religion, where he was called an “outsider theologian.” “By examining Wojnarowicz’s work through theological eyes, we can identify him as an overlooked source of theological reflection that is defiantly and proudly gay,” says the description for “David Wojnarowicz: Outsider Theologian,” a paper presented by Justin Tanis at the 2012 meeting of the American Academy of Religion. [link]

David Wojnarowicz was born in Redbank, NY and died in New York City (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992)