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A Fire in My Belly

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A Fire in My Belly
Directed byDavid Wojnarowicz
Running time
21 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent

A Fire in My Belly is an unfinished American avant-garde film directed by David Wojnarowicz.

Description

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A Fire in My Belly comprises two sections, the first 13 minutes in duration and the second 7 minutes. The longer section begins with a panning shot of a town, taken from a moving car. A sequence of newspaper articles describe violent crimes. Scenes of intense violence alternate between a bullfight, a cockfight, and a wrestling match.[1]

The shorter section opens with the image of spinning wheels. It leads into pairs of repeated images: beggars and police officers, sugar skulls and a painting of a human sacrifice, and mummies and a tombstone.[1]

Production

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Wojnarowicz shot A Fire in My Belly from 1986 to 1987. Its production happened during a turning point in his career, as his partner Peter Hujar died from AIDS in 1987 and Wojnarowicz tested positive for HIV.[1] Wojnarowicz primarily filmed in Mexico, with additional scenes at his apartment in New York.[2] He shot it on 8 mm film.[3]

Release

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"Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture"

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A Fire in My Belly was included with dozens of other American works in a 2010 National Portrait Gallery exhibition called "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture". The gallery transferred the film to video and edited it down to a four-minute excerpt. For the audio track, they used a recording from an ACT UP demonstration.[4]

In November 2010, after consultation with National Portrait Gallery director Martin Sullivan and co-curator David C. Ward but not co-curator Jonathan David Katz,[5] Smithsonian Institution Secretary G. Wayne Clough removed the film from the exhibition in response to complaints from the Catholic League, U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Representative Eric Cantor and the possibility of reduced federal funding for the Smithsonian.[6] The video contains a scene with a crucifix covered in ants.[5][7][8][9] William Donohue of the Catholic League claimed the work was "hate speech" against Catholics.[10][11][12] Gay historian Jonathan Ned Katz wrote:

In 1989 Senator Jesse Helms demonized Robert Mapplethorpe's sexuality, and by extension, his art, and with little effort pulled a cowering art world to its knees. His weapon was threatening to disrupt the already pitiful federal support for the arts, and once again, that same weapon is being brandished, and once again we cower.[5]

Response from Clough and Smithsonian

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Clough later said that although he stood by his decision, it "might have been made too quickly",[6] and called the decision "painful."[13] He said that because of the controversy surrounding the footage and the possibility that it might "spiral out of control", the Smithsonian might have been forced to shut down the entire "Hide/Seek" exhibition, and that was "something he didn't want to happen."[13] The "Hide/Seek" exhibition "examined representations of homosexuality in American portraiture", and Clough said, "The funders and people who were upset by the decision—and I respect that—still have an appreciation that this exhibition is up. We were willing to take this topic on when others were not, and people appreciate that."[6]

I think it was very important to cut off the dialogue that was headed towards, in essence, hijacking the exhibit away from us and putting it into the context of religious desecration. This continues to be a powerful exhibit about the contributions of gay and lesbian artists. It was not about religious iconography and it was not about desecration. When you look at the news cycles that take over, their [the show's critics'] megaphones are this big [making a broad gesture] and our megaphone is this big [a small gesture]. We don't control that. And when it gets out of control, you can't get it back.

— G. Wayne Clough[14]

Clough added, "But looking back, sure, I wish I had taken more time. We have a lot of friends who felt left out. We needed to spend more time letting our friends know where this was going. I regret that."[6]

The video work was shown intact when "Hide/Seek" moved to the Tacoma Art Museum.[15]

Response from the art world and the public

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The curator David C. Ward defended the artwork, saying, "It is not anti-religion or sacrilegious. It is a powerful use of imagery".[5]

In response, The Andy Warhol Foundation, which had provided a $100,000 grant to the exhibition, announced that it would not fund future Smithsonian projects.[16]

On December 2, 2010, protesters against the censorship marched from the Transformer Gallery[17][18][19] to the National Portrait Gallery. The work was projected on the building.[20][21][22] On December 5, activists Michael Blasenstein and Michael Dax Iacovone were detained and barred from the gallery for holding leaflets.[23][24]

On December 9, National Portrait Gallery Commissioner James T. Bartlett resigned in protest.[25] The artist AA Bronson sought to withdraw his art from the exhibit, with support from the lending institution, the National Gallery of Canada,[26] but was unsuccessful.[27] The curators appeared at a forum at the New York Public Library.[28][29][30] A protest was held from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Cooper Hewitt Museum.[31][32][33]

On December 15, a panel discussion was held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.[34] On December 20, a panel discussion was held at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center.[35][36][37] On January 20, 2011, the Center of Study of Political Graphics held a protest at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.[38]

Clough issued a statement standing by the decision, spoke at a Town Hall Los Angeles meeting,[39][40] and appeared at a public forum on April 26–27, 2011.[41][42][43][44]

Several Smithsonian curators criticized the decision, as did critics, with Newsweek arts critic Blake Gopnik going so far as to call the complaints "gay bashing" and not a legitimate public controversy.[45]

Later exhibitions

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After the Smithsonian controversy, several institutions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern scheduled showings of the removed work.[16] A Fire in My Belly has since been included in a retrospective at the Whitney Museum covering Wojnarowicz's work.[46]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Cotter, Holland (December 11, 2010). "As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix, Dead Artist Is Assailed Again". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Tyburczy, Jennifer (January 2015). "Queer Acts of Recovery and Uncovering: Deciphering Mexico through Archival Ephemera in David Wojnarowicz's A Fire in My Belly". Text and Performance Quarterly. 35 (1). doi:10.1080/10462937.2014.975272.
  3. ^ Ng, David (February 2, 2011). "Getting the facts straight about Wojnarowicz's 'A Fire in My Belly'". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ Rizk, Mysoon (2013). "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture". Southeastern College Art Conference Review. Vol. 16, no. 3. p. 384.
  5. ^ a b c d Jacqueline Trescott (December 6, 2010). "After Smithsonian exhibit's removal, banned ant video still creeps into gallery". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d Trescott, Jacqueline (January 19, 2011). "Clough defends removal of video". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  7. ^ "Smithsonian Q&A Regarding the "Hide/Seek" Exhibition" (PDF). December 7, 2010. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 14, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  8. ^ Cooter, Holland (December 10, 2010). "As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix, Dead Artist Is Assailed Again". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  9. ^ "Museum removes portrait of crucifix covered in ants". The Daily Telegraph. December 2, 2010.
  10. ^ Gopnik, Blake (December 1, 2010). "Museums shouldn't bow to censorship of any kind". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  11. ^ "Smithsonian to Remove Ant-Covered Jesus on Cross Video From Exhibit". Fox News. April 7, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  12. ^ "Fire in their belly". The Economist. December 13, 2010.
  13. ^ a b Taylor, Kate (January 18, 2011). "Smithsonian Chief Defends Withdrawal of Video". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  14. ^ Rosenbaum, Lee (January 20, 2011). "'Hide/Seek' Interview: Smithsonian Secretary Clough 'Can Do the Math' (But Miscalculates)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  15. ^ Cartier, Curtis (March 17, 2011). "David Wojnarowicz Film Is Too Hot for Smithsonian and Republicans, But Not for Tacoma Art Museum". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  16. ^ a b Harmanci, Reyhan (December 14, 2010). "Outcry Over Smithsonian Censorship Grows". The Bay Citizen. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  17. ^ Dave Itzkoff (December 2, 2010). "Pulled from National Portrait Gallery, Video Emerges Elsewhere in Washington". The New York Times.
  18. ^ "Going Out Gurus – 'Hide/Seek': Go see it for yourself". The Washington Post. December 1, 2010. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  19. ^ Capps, Kriston (December 1, 2010). "Transformer Will Show Video Art That National Portrait Gallery Took Down". Washington City Paper. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  20. ^ "National Portrait Gallery censorship controversy: Artist projects film on portrait gallery, recreating '89 protest". Capital Bay. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  21. ^ "Silent March Held To Protest Controversial Film's Removal From National Portrait Gallery". WUSA9.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  22. ^ Jessica Roake (December 2, 2010). "What Else Is in the National Portrait Gallery's "Offensive" Gay Show?". The Awl. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  23. ^ "Protestors banned from Smithsonian after playing video on iPad". The Washington Post. April 13, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  24. ^ "Portrait Gallery Censorship: Can you REALLY be 'banned for life' from the Smithsonian?" Archived January 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, TBDArts, December 6, 2010
  25. ^ Green, Tyler (December 9, 2010). "NPG commissioner resigns to protest removal". Modern Art Notes. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  26. ^ Taylor, Kate (December 17, 2010). "Canadian Museum Backs Smithsonian Protest". The New York Times.
  27. ^ Taylor, Kate, "National Portrait Gallery Rejects Artist's Request to Remove His Work", The New York Times Arts Beat blog, December 20, 2010, 2:20 pm. Retrieved 2101-12-21.
  28. ^ Taylor, Kate (December 15, 2010). "Exhibit's Curators Criticize Controversial Art's Removal". The New York Times.
  29. ^ Miranda, Carolina A. (December 16, 2010). "In the Wake of the Smithsonian Controversy: Hide/Seek Curators Speak at the New York Public Library". WNYC Culture. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  30. ^ Rosenbaum, Lee (December 21, 2010). ""Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Useful Policy for the "Hide/Seek" Show at National Portrait Gallery". The Huffington Post.
  31. ^ Wallin, Yasha (December 21, 2010). "Hide/Seek Protest in New York". Art in America. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  32. ^ "Hundreds in NYC Protest Hide/Seek Censorship". Band of Thebes. December 20, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  33. ^ Kennicott, Philip (December 16, 2010). "Video outcry flares anew". The Washington Post.
  34. ^ "Large crowd of Houston art lovers protest Smithsonian censorship of A Fire in My Belly". CultureMap Houston. December 15, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  35. ^ "Hide/Seek – An evening with David C. Ward Historian, National Portrait Gallery; Curator, Hide/Seek". The Theater J Blog. December 16, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  36. ^ "PAST: Special Talk "hide/SPEAK" with David C. Ward, Curator of "Hide/Seek" exhibit at the NPG". Free in DC. November 20, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  37. ^ "Hide/Seek: National Portrait Gallery Tour with NPG Curator David C. Ward". Washington DC Jewish Community Center. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  38. ^ "Center for the Study of Political Graphics". Politicalgraphics.org. September 8, 2011. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  39. ^ "Critic's Notebook: Smithsonian chief digging a deeper hole". Los Angeles Times. January 18, 2011.
  40. ^ "Protest over art censorship will greet Smithsonian chief before L.A. talk Thursday". Los Angeles Times. January 19, 2011.
  41. ^ Trescott, Jacqueline (January 19, 2011). "Smithsonian Secretary Clough stands by decision to pull 'Fire in My Belly' video". The Washington Post.
  42. ^ Judkis, Maura (January 20, 2011). "Portrait Gallery Censorship: Smithsonian secretary speaks". @TBD Arts. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  43. ^ "Clough Gets Testy at "Hide/Seek" Conference (Call Martin Sullivan!)". Arts Journal. April 27, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  44. ^ "Public Forum "Flashpoints and Fault Lines: Museum Curation and Controversy" April 26–27". Smithsonian Newsdesk. April 28, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  45. ^ Zongker, Brett (27 April 2011). "Experts debate Smithsonian's response to critics". The Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  46. ^ Cotter, Holland (July 13, 2018). "A Guerrilla Artist from the Past". The New York Times. p. C13. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
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