A Fire in My Belly explained

Director:David Wojnarowicz
Runtime:21 minutes
Country:United States
Language:Silent

A Fire in My Belly is an unfinished American avant-garde film directed by David Wojnarowicz.

Description

A Fire in My Belly comprises two sections, the first 13 minutes in duration and the second 7 minutes. The longer section begins with a panning shot of a town, taken from a moving car. A sequence of newspaper articles describe violent crimes. Scenes of intense violence alternate between a bullfight, a cockfight, and a wrestling match.[1]

The shorter section opens with the image of spinning wheels. It leads into pairs of repeated images: beggars and police officers, sugar skulls and a painting of a human sacrifice, and mummies and a tombstone.[1]

Production

Wojnarowicz shot A Fire in My Belly from 1986 to 1987. Its production happened during a turning point in his career, as his partner Peter Hujar died from AIDS in 1987 and Wojnarowicz tested positive for HIV.[1] Wojnarowicz primarily filmed in Mexico, with additional scenes at his apartment in New York.[2] He shot it on 8 mm film.[3]

Release

"Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture"

A Fire in My Belly was included with dozens of other American works in a 2010 National Portrait Gallery exhibition called "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture". The gallery transferred the film to video and edited it down to a four-minute excerpt. For the audio track, they used a recording from an ACT UP demonstration.[4]

In November 2010, after consultation with National Portrait Gallery director Martin Sullivan and co-curator David C. Ward but not co-curator Jonathan David Katz,[5] Smithsonian Institution Secretary G. Wayne Clough removed the film from the exhibition in response to complaints from the Catholic League, U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Representative Eric Cantor and the possibility of reduced federal funding for the Smithsonian. The video contains a scene with a crucifix covered in ants.[6] [7] [8] William Donohue of the Catholic League claimed the work was "hate speech" against Catholics.[9] [10] [11] Gay historian Jonathan Ned Katz wrote:

Response from Clough and Smithsonian

Clough later said that although he stood by his decision, it "might have been made too quickly",[12] and called the decision "painful."[13] He said that because of the controversy surrounding the footage and the possibility that it might "spiral out of control", the Smithsonian might have been forced to shut down the entire "Hide/Seek" exhibition, and that was "something he didn't want to happen."[13] The "Hide/Seek" exhibition "examined representations of homosexuality in American portraiture", and Clough said, "The funders and people who were upset by the decision—and I respect that—still have an appreciation that this exhibition is up. We were willing to take this topic on when others were not, and people appreciate that."[12]

Clough added, "But looking back, sure, I wish I had taken more time. We have a lot of friends who felt left out. We needed to spend more time letting our friends know where this was going. I regret that."[12]

The video work was shown intact when "Hide/Seek" moved to the Tacoma Art Museum.[14]

Response from the art world and the public

The curator David C. Ward defended the artwork, saying, "It is not anti-religion or sacrilegious. It is a powerful use of imagery".

In response, The Andy Warhol Foundation, which had provided a $100,000 grant to the exhibition, announced that it would not fund future Smithsonian projects.[15]

On December 2, 2010, protesters against the censorship marched from the Transformer Gallery[16] [17] [18] to the National Portrait Gallery. The work was projected on the building.[19] [20] [21] On December 5, activists Michael Blasenstein and Michael Dax Iacovone were detained and barred from the gallery for holding leaflets.[22] [23]

On December 9, National Portrait Gallery Commissioner James T. Bartlett resigned in protest.[24] The artist AA Bronson sought to withdraw his art from the exhibit, with support from the lending institution, the National Gallery of Canada,[25] but was unsuccessful.[26] The curators appeared at a forum at the New York Public Library.[27] [28] [29] A protest was held from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Cooper Hewitt Museum.[30] [31] [32]

On December 15, a panel discussion was held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.[33] On December 20, a panel discussion was held at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center.[34] [35] [36] On January 20, 2011, the Center of Study of Political Graphics held a protest at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.[37]

Clough issued a statement standing by the decision, spoke at a Town Hall Los Angeles meeting,[38] [39] and appeared at a public forum on April 26–27, 2011.[40] [41] [42] [43]

Several Smithsonian curators criticized the decision, as did critics, with Newsweek arts critic Blake Gopnik going so far as to call the complaints "gay bashing" and not a legitimate public controversy.[44]

Later exhibitions

After the Smithsonian controversy, several institutions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern scheduled showings of the removed work.[15] A Fire in My Belly has since been included in a retrospective at the Whitney Museum covering Wojnarowicz's work.[45]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Cotter . Holland . December 11, 2010 . As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix, Dead Artist Is Assailed Again . . February 19, 2024.
  2. Tyburczy . Jennifer . January 2015 . Queer Acts of Recovery and Uncovering: Deciphering Mexico through Archival Ephemera in David Wojnarowicz's A Fire in My Belly . . 35 . 1 . 10.1080/10462937.2014.975272 .
  3. Web site: Getting the facts straight about Wojnarowicz's 'A Fire in My Belly' . Ng . David . February 2, 2011 . .
  4. Rizk . Mysoon . 2013 . Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture . Southeastern College Art Conference Review . 16 . 3 . 384 .
  5. News: Jacqueline Trescott . After Smithsonian exhibit's removal, banned ant video still creeps into gallery . . December 6, 2010 . December 11, 2013.
  6. Web site: Smithsonian Q&A Regarding the "Hide/Seek" Exhibition . December 7, 2010 . 1–2 . December 14, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110614120929/http://www.npg.si.edu/docs/SIQ%26A.pdf . June 14, 2011 . dead .
  7. News: Cooter . Holland . As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix, Dead Artist Is Assailed Again . The New York Times . December 10, 2010 . December 14, 2010 .
  8. News: Museum removes portrait of crucifix covered in ants . . December 2, 2010 .
  9. News: Blake . Gopnik . Museums shouldn't bow to censorship of any kind . The Washington Post . December 1, 2010 . December 3, 2010 .
  10. News: Smithsonian to Remove Ant-Covered Jesus on Cross Video From Exhibit . . April 7, 2010 . December 7, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101203063143/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/30/smithsonian-remove-ant-covered-jesus-cross-video-exhibit/ . December 3, 2010 .
  11. News: Fire in their belly . . December 13, 2010.
  12. News: Trescott . Jacqueline . Clough defends removal of video . The Washington Post . January 19, 2011 . June 27, 2012.
  13. News: Taylor . Kate . Smithsonian Chief Defends Withdrawal of Video . The New York Times . January 18, 2011 . June 27, 2012.
  14. News: Curtis . Cartier . David Wojnarowicz Film Is Too Hot for Smithsonian and Republicans, But Not for Tacoma Art Museum . Seattle Weekly . March 17, 2011 . January 19, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110321005417/http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/03/david_wojnarowicz_film_is_too.php . March 21, 2011 . mdy-all .
  15. News: Outcry Over Smithsonian Censorship Grows . The Bay Citizen . December 14, 2010 . Reyhan . Harmanci . December 14, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101216092914/http://www.baycitizen.org/visual-art/story/outcry-over-smithsonian-censorship-grows/ . December 16, 2010 . dead . mdy-all .
  16. News: Pulled from National Portrait Gallery, Video Emerges Elsewhere in Washington . December 2, 2010 . Dave Itzkoff . The New York Times .
  17. News: Going Out Gurus – 'Hide/Seek': Go see it for yourself . The Washington Post . December 1, 2010 . December 7, 2010 .
  18. Web site: Capps . Kriston . Transformer Will Show Video Art That National Portrait Gallery Took Down . Washington City Paper . December 1, 2010 . December 7, 2010.
  19. Web site: National Portrait Gallery censorship controversy: Artist projects film on portrait gallery, recreating '89 protest . Capital Bay. December 3, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110708114835/http://news1.capitalbay.com/news/washington-dc/157567.html . July 8, 2011 . mdy-all .
  20. Web site: Silent March Held To Protest Controversial Film's Removal From National Portrait Gallery . WUSA9.com . December 3, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101203195236/http://wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=123522&catid=158 . December 3, 2010 . dead .
  21. Web site: What Else Is in the National Portrait Gallery's "Offensive" Gay Show? . Jessica Roake . December 2, 2010 . December 2, 2010. The Awl .
  22. News: Protestors banned from Smithsonian after playing video on iPad . The Washington Post . April 13, 2010 . December 7, 2010 .
  23. http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-arts/2010/12/portrait-gallery-censorship-can-you-really-be-banned-for-life-from-the-smithsonian--5537.html "Portrait Gallery Censorship: Can you REALLY be 'banned for life' from the Smithsonian?"
  24. Web site: Green . Tyler . NPG commissioner resigns to protest removal . Modern Art Notes . December 9, 2010 . June 27, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120313033951/http://blogs.artinfo.com/modernartnotes/2010/12/npg-commissioner-resigns-in-protest-of-video-removal/ . March 13, 2012 . dead .
  25. News: Canadian Museum Backs Smithsonian Protest . The New York Times . Kate . Taylor . December 17, 2010.
  26. Taylor, Kate, "National Portrait Gallery Rejects Artist's Request to Remove His Work", The New York Times Arts Beat blog, December 20, 2010, 2:20 pm. Retrieved 2101-12-21.
  27. News: Exhibit's Curators Criticize Controversial Art's Removal . The New York Times . Kate . Taylor . December 15, 2010.
  28. Web site: Miranda . Carolina A. . In the Wake of the Smithsonian Controversy: Hide/Seek Curators Speak at the New York Public Library . WNYC Culture . December 16, 2010 . June 27, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120427040407/http://culture.wnyc.org/blogs/gallerina/2010/dec/16/hideseek-curators-nypl/ . April 27, 2012 . mdy-all .
  29. News: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Useful Policy for the "Hide/Seek" Show at National Portrait Gallery . The Huffington Post . Lee . Rosenbaum . December 21, 2010.
  30. Wallin . Yasha . Hide/Seek Protest in New York . Art in America . December 21, 2010 . June 27, 2012.
  31. Web site: Hundreds in NYC Protest Hide/Seek Censorship . Band of Thebes . December 20, 2010 . June 27, 2012.
  32. News: Video outcry flares anew . The Washington Post . Philip . Kennicott . December 16, 2010.
  33. Web site: Large crowd of Houston art lovers protest Smithsonian censorship of A Fire in My Belly . CultureMap Houston . December 15, 2010 . June 27, 2012.
  34. Web site: Hide/Seek – An evening with David C. Ward Historian, National Portrait Gallery; Curator, Hide/Seek . The Theater J Blog . December 16, 2010 . June 27, 2012.
  35. Web site: PAST: Special Talk "hide/SPEAK" with David C. Ward, Curator of "Hide/Seek" exhibit at the NPG . Free in DC . November 20, 2010 . June 27, 2012.
  36. Web site: Hide/Seek: National Portrait Gallery Tour with NPG Curator David C. Ward . Washington DC Jewish Community Center . June 27, 2012.
  37. Web site: Center for the Study of Political Graphics . Politicalgraphics.org . September 8, 2011 . June 27, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120818231718/http://www.politicalgraphics.org/calendar.html . August 18, 2012 . dead . mdy-all .
  38. News: Critic's Notebook: Smithsonian chief digging a deeper hole . Los Angeles Times . January 18, 2011.
  39. News: Protest over art censorship will greet Smithsonian chief before L.A. talk Thursday . Los Angeles Times . January 19, 2011.
  40. News: Smithsonian Secretary Clough stands by decision to pull 'Fire in My Belly' video . The Washington Post . Jacqueline . Trescott . January 19, 2011.
  41. Web site: Judkis . Maura . Portrait Gallery Censorship: Smithsonian secretary speaks . @TBD Arts . January 20, 2011 . June 27, 2012 . March 6, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120306013850/http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-arts/2011/01/portrait-gallery-censorship-smithsonian-secretary-speaks-7473.html . dead .
  42. Web site: Clough Gets Testy at "Hide/Seek" Conference (Call Martin Sullivan!) . Arts Journal . April 27, 2011 . June 27, 2012 .
  43. Web site: Public Forum "Flashpoints and Fault Lines: Museum Curation and Controversy" April 26–27 . Smithsonian Newsdesk . April 28, 2011 . June 27, 2012.
  44. Web site: Zongker . Brett . Experts debate Smithsonian's response to critics . Associated Press . . 24 April 2016 . 27 April 2011 .
  45. News: Cotter . Holland . July 13, 2018 . A Guerrilla Artist from the Past . . C13 . February 19, 2024 .

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