Peter Hujar's Day

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

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Peter Hujar (1934-1987) was a well known American photographer who lived and worked in New York City during the 70s and 80s. He became well acquainted with Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, John Waters and Divine.

Hujar is known for his striking portraits of street people and celebrities done in a naturalistic fashion mostly in black-and-white. He was noted for his truth and searing honesty in photographs, capturing both joy and festivity’ as well as dying and mortality.

Hujar achieved notoriety for his photograph Candy Darling on Her Deathbed (1973), focusing on the Warhol superstar.

Hujar died of AIDS in 1987.

Directed by Ira Sachs, “Peter Hujar’s Day” is a brief, haunting and pensive film capturing an actual New York City day in the life of the photographer. The dialogue is taken from a transcript of a lost audio recording.

Hujar (Ben Whishaw) is in his apartment with his journalist and friend Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Miller). Linda wants to write a book about the artists she is acquainted with, so with that in mind she records Peter’s every move in the manner of Pat Hackett in the Andy Warhol Diaries.

Hujar’s main story details his fear of meeting Allen Ginsberg for a photo shoot. Ginsberg mainly yells at him for wanting to do a portrait as a project and invading his privacy. Hujar relates that he told Ginsberg to dispense with the photo concept and that any type of photo would be sufficient. Hujar tells Rosenkrantz that he followed Ginsberg around the city for hours and that the Beat poet mostly uttered Buddhist chants with little regard for the photographer at work. Then suddenly, Hujar is taken aback to hear Ginsburg mention oral sex in regard to William Burroughs.

Hujar then tells of a friend asking him to use his showering facilities. While talking Hujar constantly snacks and picks on various foods. Rosenkrantz is concerned that her friend is not eating enough and losing weight. Hujar confesses insomnia and stomach problems. The camera hovers around him. Perhaps he is being oppressed by apartment ghosts or an unseen presence, even a specter of death.

Both Hujar and Rosenkrantz are shown facing one another as spiritual twins, supernatural passengers in a shared seance. The deep focus shots suggest that they are indeed not alone, awaiting an unannounced visitor, a flashing sign from Beyond or down the block: one of Andy’s silver pillows.

Hujar is unmistakably anxious. Through it all, the pair is joined at the hip.

The skyline of New York City floats on the horizon. A purple thread of foreboding.

This film is an eerie time capsule. Through both the gentle welcome of Hujar’s face and his confused weariness, one conjures Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol and Factory People: a lost time when chattering silver giants ruled the earth.

Write Ian at ianfree11@yahoo.com