Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night

Last year I saw the Wojnarowicz show at the Whitney, History Keeps Me Awake at Night. This is an artist who has long haunted me. The grit, the unflinching look at pain. The sexuality, bold, raw, unapologetic. I loved this show. Was in awe. I learned more about him. I want to learn more; I want to read his memoirs. It was also intense for me, in a nostalgic way I guess, to see how 80s his work was (duh). It was just kind of interesting how clearly I could see him as of his time, in a I only can given the passage of decades.

Warhol at the Whitney

Earlier this year I saw the Warhol exhibit at the Whitney, From A to B and Back Again. This was a glorious and immersive show. The vibrancy of his work, the confrontational aspect, making you look and somehow mocking you, our culture, at the same time. It was chronological, with artifacts and memorabilia, his magazine covers and his large scale silk screens. The social commentary in his work, the irony, and the humor all came across. It was fun and fantastic. The energy of the 80s -- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

BlackkKlansman

Last year I saw an intense movie, BlackkKlansman, by Spike Lee. It is about a black man in the 70s who joins an investigative unit in Colorado. He ends up posing over the phone as a white man interested in joining the KKK and he manages to infiltrate the organization, with a white officer standing in for him in person. This movie makes racism terrifying and brings to the surface the violence undergirding this oppression. It is an incredibly tense, fascinating film. Tight and brilliant. The acting and directing are phenomenal.