Arthur Rimbaud in New York 1978 - 1979

David Wojnarowicz made this gelatin silver print, Arthur Rimbaud in New York, sometime before he died in 1992. It's a photograph, but the stark black and white, the way the image is constructed, it reminds me of a collage, or even a painting, where decisions about placement and juxtaposition are really important. The figure of Rimbaud is plonked right there in the foreground, but it’s as if he’s pasted in, a ghost in the machine. The surface is smooth, almost too smooth, which makes the contrast between figure and ground even more jarring. Look at the texture of the rocks, like a close-up of skin, or the spray of the sea, pitted and grainy. Wojnarowicz was obsessed with the idea of the artist as an outsider, a kind of seer, like Rimbaud. He used his work to explore the themes of displacement, alienation, and loss, especially in the face of the AIDS crisis. Think of artists like Nan Goldin or Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Ultimately, this piece is about the power of art to transcend boundaries, both physical and emotional.