Peter Hujar
Self Portrait, 1976
Peter Hujar (1934-1987) was a master of black and white photography. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey and later moved to Manhattan to work for magazines, advertising, and the fashion industry. Mainly a portrait photographer, he also photographed an array of subjects from farm animals to nudes. He also turned his camera on fellow nightcrawlers who inhabited the East Village art scene of the late 70s and 80s. His most famous photograph is possibly, “Candy Darling on Her Deathbed”. His now infamous book, entitled Portraits in Life and Death (1976), is quite the collector’s item. Peter Hujar was a long term partner of artist David Wojnarowicz, who died with AIDS in 1992. Hujar died of AIDS complications in 1987.
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| John Heys, 1985 | Self Portrait, 1976 | Cindy Lubar as Queen Victoria, 1974 |
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| Pier, no date | David Wojnarowicz with a Snake, 1981 | Untitled, no date |
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| Divine, 1975 | John Heys in Lana Turner’s Gown, 1983 | Candy Darling on her Deathbed, 1974 |
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| Halloween, DOA, 1980 | Gary in Park, 1981 | Untitled, 1981 |
Links:
*These links are from the Queer Cultural Center’s Archive Site circa 2001 and don’t represent current links to Peter Hujar’s work.
New York Magazine
This online magazine features a biography of the artist as well as a nifty slide show of various works and several relevant links doing justice to the life of Peter Hujar
http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/art/10856/
Nymag(courtesy of Mathew Marks Gallery–
http://nymag.com/arts/articles/05/peterhujar/index.htm
Art Net
Great source of information and a gallery exhibition of fifteen of Peter Hujar’s works
http://www.artnet.com/artist/26391/peter-hujar.html
Visual Aids
“emotionally grabbing and filled with information about the man in an essay by Holland Cotter”
Founded in 1988 by arts professionals as a response to the effects of AIDS on the arts community and as a way of organizing artists, arts institutions, and arts audiences towards direct action, Visual AIDS has evolved into an arts organization with a two-pronged mission. Intensive archival which historicizes the contributions of visual artists with HIV. And two: produces exhibitions, publications, and events utilizing visual art to spread the message “AIDS IS NOT OVER.”
http://newsgrist.typepad.com/visualaids/2005/11/portraits_in_li.html
Wikipedia
The intenternet’s free encyclopedia gives us several links to further information about the artist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hujar
Photography Now
http://www.photography-now.com/artists/K09871.html?PHPSESSID=bf8e4e4a3089a5413599a4942739f4f8
