More Fire in My Belly: Warhol Foundation vs. Smithsonian

Former Los Angeles City Councilperson and current Warhol Foundation President Joel Wachs has written a letter condemning the Smithsonian’s censoring of Wojnarowicz’s Fire in My Belly, threatening to stop financing exhibitions at the Smithsonian if the work is not reinstalled.  The Warhol Foundation supported Hide/Seek to the tune of $100,000, and has given $375,000 [...]

Hide/Seek Momentum Keeps Growing

Hideseek.org is up, a clearinghouse of Hide/Seek & Fire in My Belly information, including a listing of all screenings.  The Hammer Museum in LA, Yerba Buena in SF, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, The Wexner in Ohio, SFMOMA , Boston ICA, Contemporay Arts Museum Houston, Stanford and many others are now showing Wojnarowicz’s [...]

Stephen Colbert on A Fire in My Belly

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Tip/Wag – Art Edition – Brent Glass www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> March to Keep Fear Alive

Fire in My Belly bit starts at about 2:50.  Stephen Colbert (who it’s worth noting, is a devout Catholic), mocks representative Congressman [...]

Hide/Seek & Fire In My Belly Update

The Smithsonian has released a wimpy statement that indicates that they “Stand Firmly Behind “Hide/Seek” Exhibition”.  Which is total bullshit. If they’re was anything firm about their stance, David Wojnarowicz’ video would still be on display.  If we are going to have to fight another culture war to defend the rights of free expression [...]

Welcome to Beard Heaven

Once again the Library of Congress has delivered a death touch of awesome to Flickr’s Commons. This time it’s 700 tintype and ambrotype portraits of civil war soldiers, many of whom have awesome beards (and, tragically, all too many who were too young to even grow one).  These are all from the Liljenquist [...]

Jeffrey Deitch’s Hand on the Flush Lever

Firstly, word on the street in L.A. is that MOCA is bleeding staff. People don’t want to work there, don’t like Deitch and are skipping out on valuable arts jobs in the middle of a recession.  In the months since Deitch’s arrival around ten staff people have left, including a majority of the development [...]

More Fire In My Belly

For your reference, David Wojnarowicz’ piece, Fire in My Belly (via Carol Cheh of Another Righteous Transfer), in its YouTube incarnation.

The audio is from Diamanda Galas‘ Plague Mass, which in my opinion is one of the most important and moving pieces of music composed in the last 50 years or so.  If [...]

GOP Fires First Shots in a New Culture War?

So there were elections, and now radical, right wing powers are sharpening their agendas, with incoming House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Representative Eric Cantor (R-Va.) leading the way.

So the first shot is the demanded removal of David Wojnarowicz’s 1987 work, A Fire in My Belly, from display in the exhibition [...]