Category:Film and Video

Filmmaker Arthur Bressan Jr. believed David Wojnarowicz wasn't really a still photographer; he should be "doing cinema."^[1] In May of 1980, Bressan showed Wojnarowicz how to properly use a Super 8mm camera, although he had already tried his hand behind the camera in 1979 for the short film Heroin. Wojnarowicz continued working with the moving image up until his death in 1992. He befriended Tommy Turner at the Peppermint Lounge in 1981 and soon after Richard Kern. Both Turner and Kern would become leading figures in the Cinema of Transgression movement (1981-1987). Although Wojnarowicz is not considered part of the Cinema of Transgression, he often appeared in and collaborated with his friends on films tied to the movement. Wojnarowicz also collaborated with friends outside the movement for his moving image projects, including his 3 Teens Kill 4 bandmates, and the musician Ben Neill.

Wojnarowicz's films are especially complicated because none of them are complete. Even Heroin, which has end credits, was never given a soundtrack by the artist. That being said, Wojnarowicz did have finished moving image projects, which he used in performances and installations.