Film Stills

"When I move my eyes very slowly from left to right while sitting still, I can feel and hear a
faint clicking sensation suggesting that vision is made up of millions of tiny stills..."- David Wojnarowicz

Due to the publicity surrounding A Fire in My Belly, David Wojnarowicz may be more publicly known for moving image than any other medium he worked in. Irony lies in the fact that Wojnarowicz created less than five narrative short films, all which remain unfinished. Any films created primarily by Wojnarowicz that came to an extent of fruition were never fully realized, unlike the production of so many static works by the artist. Even with this knowledge, Wojnarowicz's immense collection of Super 8mm footage had another purpose. Wojnarowicz would often repurpose his Super 8 negatives for another medium altogether; photography.

Wojnarowicz put his thoughts on movement into practice, breaking up movements which the camera had captured into still images. A bulk of Wojnarowicz's photography comes directly from his Super 8mm negatives, even when he carried both a 35mm and Super 8 camera. For example, although Wojnarowicz's Mexico film remained unfinished, much of the footage was reappropriated by the artist, including for the development of film stills. Many of these stills would be exhibited in Wojnarowicz lifetime. Wojnarowicz would exhibit them as standalone photographs, glued together on board, or even within collages.

Media and Techniques

Wojnarowicz's Super 8mm negatives were projected and developed onto photo paper. The film stills are black and white gelatin silver prints. When projecting the negatives onto photo paper, Wojnarowicz would sometimes leave in parts of the upper and lower frames. The inclusion of secondary frames alludes to the stilling of motion and exploits the process from moving image to static photograph.

For information on Wojnarowicz's developing techniques for gelatin silver prints Click Here

Selected Works

(Untitled) Still From Cockfight
Gelatin silver print
1988-1989

---

Mexican Mummies
Three gelatin silver prints on museum board

1986-1987