David Wojnarowicz, Arthur Rimbaud in New York, 1978-79

David Wojnarowicz's collection of photographs Arthur Rimbaud in New York (1978-79) document his own life through a construction of Arthur Rimbaud’s.  Considering himself on the margins of society (as a gay man emerging from a troubled childhood), Wojnarowicz chronicled his own history through a fictive account of Rimbaud’s interactions in New York.  Appropriating Rimbaud’s identity (via a bag like mask) united him with a fellow outsider and allowed him the freedom and the confidence to both examine himself, as well as put his life before the public eye.  Through Rimbaud’s caricature, Wojnarowicz was able to confront his past, as well as his anxieties about his future, from a comfortable distance.

By representing Rimbaud with a masked, static face atop a living body, Wojnarowicz parodied the comparison between himself (as the contemporary outsider-artist) and his predecessor.  Wojnarowicz is reminding the viewer that this construction of Rimbaud is merely a prop for the telling of his personal story.

Through Rimbaud, Wojnarowicz has justified his place on the margins of society – paying homage to the great poet while reflecting on the similarities in his own life.  His Rimbaud-mask does not negate or protect his existence (his own skin is all too present in many of the photographs); through Rimbaud, Wojnarowicz has simultaneously concealed and exposed himself.

References:
Mysoon Rizk, "Constructing Histories: David Wojnarowicz’s 'Arthur Rimbaud in New York,'” in The Passionate Camera, Photography and Bodies of Desire, ed. Deborah Bright. London: Routledge, 1998.