Four letters - photo 1
Four letters - photo 2
Four letters - photo 3

Four letters

Lot 111
27.06.2024 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 6 300
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1236342
Lot 111 | Four letters
Estimate value
$ 4 000 – 6 000
WOJNAROWICZ, David (1954-1992). Group of four letters signed ("David" and "David Wojnarowicz") to Phillip Seymour, Normandy and Paris, France, 1978-79.

Quarto, 13 pp. total, comprising 3 TLS and 1 ALS; envelopes.

A series of lengthy letters from multimedia artist David Wojnarowicz to a lover while traveling in France. The letters are part poetic travelogues of his journey to and time in Normandy as well as discussions of his art and writing that also touch on topics such as sexuality, friendship, relationships, societal pressures, depression, and reading.

He writes in his letter of 15 October 1978, ".. from your ideas and descriptions in the letter you sound like you are going thru things that a great deal of people I know have gone or been going through ... some of it ties in with the big question: who are we and why are we here as well as with the selfmade inquiries of our sexual orientation ... (men and women alike go thru it ... Sometimes forever but maintaining continual perspective on it helps to lessen the pain)." Later in the same letter: "I love the idea of journal writing while working with any medium whether it be clay or paint or drawing or whatever ... it clarifies ideas and translates thoughts into still another medium; words ... and of course it helps you see things more deeply if you start articulating the senses; as you say you begin to define things in a concrete way which gives way to more thoughts/ideas and further understanding of the attempts or approach at translating the self in some expressive way ..." He also describes a book he has written: "the characters are road or backstreet people; people that most people avoid or run in the other direction from or else just never chance to meet and relate to on an intense level ... They are junkies, prostitutes (male and female) , bums, hobo's, criminals, young outlaws, madmen, truckdrivers, saints, guards, vagabonds, sideshow types, fathers, children on the run and just everyday drifting characters—the book. consists of road philosophies, tales of adventure and terror and at times woe, things in general that were on their minds which they related and which hit me as containing - essences of american life that had unusual parallels between them and also containing a vision of american society that was indeed bleak though very true and real to these persons; some of that bleakness at one point in my early life very real to myself too…" He writes in his letter of 16 February [1979]: "I have been working on a number of different things, one of them a project that will take some time and possibly another trip by car or thumb or rail across the country ... I've done some of the best drawings ever here, also some very different writings—my experiences here have calmed me down (unintentionally) so that my writing is more quiet and yet still drifts in the same areas of thought; been working on dream writings, a book composed of dreams, where dreams make up the landscapes and characters drift in and out ..."

Wojnarowicz rose from an abusive childhood in New York City to become a powerful and prominent voice in the East Village art scene. Largely self-taught, he used his body of work—which spanned photography, painting, sculpture, music, film, writing, and activism—to confront social issues, sexuality, and the AIDS crisis. His impactful career ended tragically in 1992 at the age of 37 when he died of AIDS-related complications. No letters from Wojnarowicz are recorded at auction. [Together with:] A small piece of driftwood referenced in one of the letters. Provenance: Phillip Seymour.
Artist:David Wojnarowicz (1954 - 1992)
Place of origin:USA
Auction house category:Letters, documents and manuscripts
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.06.2024 – 27.06.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

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