Date of Award
Winter 1-6-2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art and Design
First Advisor
Susan Richmond
Second Advisor
Kimberly Cleveland
Third Advisor
Juliana Kubala
Abstract
My thesis focuses on David Wojnarowicz’s exploration of the “essence of death” through his art. I argue that Wojnarowicz had specifically employed the aesthetics of the abject to challenge what he termed a “pre-invented existence,” living and dying on the terms of a necropolitical state that seeks to control life’s intensities. Through visual manifestations of death, dying, decay, and disease, the artist used the abject to express existence beyond the grasp of political and social systems that refuse to afford minority groups the resources, opportunities, and dignity to survive.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/32642271
Recommended Citation
Yee, Gillian, "Life and Death Beyond a "Pre-Invented Existence": The Subversive Possibilities of Abjection in the Work of David Wojnarowicz." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2023.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/32642271
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