'Exploring The Unseen' - Artist Research

 In our three-dimensional projects, we have been investigating how aspects of the unseen are represented in art. This idea is a difficult one to approach because what is considered 'unseen' is relative to the person whose viewpoint we are observing from; for example, the interior of my room is unseen to others when the door is locked but not to me, and vice versa. Furthermore, when it comes to exploring how the unseen is presented in art, each person will approach the topic from their own distinct viewpoint.

When considering the unseen, I was personally inspired by the artwork of politically motivated gay artist, writer and filmmaker David Wojnarowicz, whose most popular works were created in the 1980's and early 90's. Wojnarowicz has a distinctive way of combining text with photographic images, and also producing photo-collages and surreal paintings. His work covers such a breadth of artistic mediums of expression that it immediately interested me, in particular his Sex series, photographs, and also his paintings, which are engaging due to the slightly clumsy and simplistic representations of people and objects. His series of photographs entitled 'Arthur Rimbaud in New York' offer a portrait of the life of young gay men in New York at the time, and Wojnarowicz is keen to portray the lesser known and unglamorous sub-cultures of the city. Wojnarowicz uses a mask of the young 19^th Century poet Arthur Rimbaud to conceal the identity of the model in his photographs, and this is where the unseen comes into his work in the most literal sense. Arthur Rimbaud's poetry often commented on how he must make himself “a seer” in order to be a good poet, and there was a huge emphasis on observation of others, of the world around you, and that coheres with Wojnarowicz's project. Through the camera lens, we are seeing an archetypal symbol, almost a character, displaying how life was in New York in the 1970's for people like Wojnarowicz, in the same way that Rimbaud aspired to see the world as it truly was through his poetry.

Wojnarowicz seems to use what Arthur Rimbaud stood for, his ideas of romanticism and pain, as a point of juxtaposition and comparison, using this contrast to present how he views modern New York. 

Above: Two photographs from 'Arthur Rimbaud in New York' (1978-79)

 

However, the first piece of his that really got my attention is an untitled photograph of bandaged hands, overlaid with red text. Wojnarowicz created the piece when he had discovered he was infected with AIDS and did not have long left to live, and the text itself is partially a quote from his own book 'Memories That Smell Like Gasoline', that reads; “I am shouting my invisible words. I am getting so weary. I am growing tired, I am waving to you from here. I am crawling and looking for the aperture of complete and final emptiness. I am vibrating in isolation among you. I am signalling that the volume of all this is too high. I am waving. I am waving my hands. I am disappearing. I am disappearing but not fast enough.”

The words were the initial draw to his work for me, as the repetition of certain phrases and words seems to emulate his body slowing down, his life coming to a close, and at the same time there was such energy and desperation in the words. He is looking around at the world and feeling as if he does not quite fit in there, as if no one else is realising his level of pain. The shot of hands in bandages mimics exactly what the prose it attempting to do; to come to terms with his own mortality. But there is also a tension between the words and the photograph in that some of the text is very difficult to read – it is literally unseen in certain places. I initially thought this was a mistake, but I now believe that this is a deliberate move by Wojnarowicz to create a difficult, tense relationship between the image and the words - the observer is put into an uncomfortable position whilst they read about Wojnarowicz's own discomfort. It is a way of increasing empathy in the observer. 

Above: 'Untitled' (1992)

The reason I believe this relates to the unseen is because some ways of writing do not explicitly describe scenarios or places, and instead hint towards them, allowing the reader to imagine individual images and piece them together. There are spaces in the imagery where the writer is withholding information, where things are unseen. Similarly, in photography you do not obtain a continuity of images where everything is displayed in a linear way,  and you are instead being faced with snapshots that intimate certain thoughts or feelings. It is the gaps in the narrative and the things that are hidden or withheld in Wojnarowicz's art that I feel relate to the topic of the unseen.