Peter Hujar: A Retrospective

by Peter Hujar, Urs Stahel, Hripsimé Visser (Editor)

Peter Hujar, a New Yorker of Ukrainian descent, died of AIDS in 1987. He recorded the world in astonishing portraits of cows, sheep, and geese in the country, dogs in the studio, the sea, the city, and above all his fellow human beings, many of whom have since won Susan Sontag, John Waters, Divine, William S. Borroughs, Candy Darling, Robert Wilson, David Wojnarowicz, Paul Thek, and many men, in the nude, half-dressed, sleeping, posing, tumescent. People, animals, landscapes - Peter Hujar approached them all with great respect and a perfect sense of balance between near and far. His subjects face us with supremely dignified singularity, with loneliness at times, and at times in an aura of dauntless and "splendid isolation."

Genres: Photography, Art

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Larry-bob Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's funny how people used to describe Frida as Diego Rivera's wife, and now it seems like people don't know who Diego is. I think at one point Peter Hujar was the famous one, but now it seems like everyone namechecks David Wojnarowicz and has forgotten Peter Hujar (except for the photo on the cover of that Antony and the Johnsons CD.)

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I discovered on the last page of this book, Hujar is the guy who took the incredible photo on the cover of Antony and the Johnson's I Am A Bird Now. Most of his stuff, I honestly found pretty boring. But there are some real stand out images that made this book well worth looking at. His portraits of farm animals are some of the most moving I have ever seen.