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Michael Kirwan was born in New York City on December 27th,
1953. He was the middle child of Patrick and Mildred Kirwan, he from
New York, she from Pensacola, Florida. Raised in the Washington
Heights district of New York, Michael attended the St. Rose of Lima
Catholic school from first through fifth grades. Even though he rarely had art
supplies, from an early age he drew
on paper bags with ballpoint pens and filled small steno pads with
drawings. He was
buck-toothed and regularly called a sissy but didn’t really care as
long as he could draw more inviting worlds on the A&P bags that came
from the supermarket. He became part of an innovative program
developed by the Archdiocese of New York whereby particularly bright
boy students would be taught rigorous, in-depth college courses by the
Christian Brothers. So he spent the sixth, seventh and eighth grades travelling downtown to West 83rd street to attend the
Monsignor Kelly experimental school. Here his artistic abilities were
recognized and he flourished in somewhat adult academic setting. Upon
graduation however, he found that there was no available next step,
and was horrified when he started freshman year at Cardinal Spellman
High School in the Bronx and understood that he’d have to endure four
years of being badly taught what he already knew by inferior teachers.
Young Mr. Kirwan became irreverent, manipulative and displayed a
caustic wit when insulting his “superiors” at every opportunity. He
treated his high schools years as a long cosmic joke and was one of
the featured regulars in “detention”.
While still at Spellman, Michael married his high school sweetheart and
six months later became a father. Later that year he was denied a
diploma because he had hurled a jelly donut at the back of his
religious instructor’s head (she an ex-nun). With a family to support
Michael worked in the shipping and receiving area at Gimbels
department store. He stayed there from 1973-1979. His marriage
dissolved under the combined weight of his irresponsible attitude and
continuing homosexual shenanigans. In 1980, embracing his newly found
gay identity, he went to work at the St. Marks Baths, a sperm-splashed
institution in the East Village. Michael rose through the ranks
quickly from laundry boy to management through being an
incapable/inept but endearing presence nonetheless. Encouraged by
Bruce Mailman, owner of both the baths and the magnificent and
historic “Saint” dance club, Michael rediscovered art and in
particular his skill at drawing the naked men surrounding him at work.
In 1986, Michael realized that the AIDS epidemic would soon end the
heydays at the tubs. It was during this time that his works were first
published in STROKE magazine. He next worked for about two years at a
porn video distributorship (GVC) before the company profits vanished
up the executive’s nostrils.
In 1988 he got a call from a friend in
Miami. Michael moved to Florida and became a chef at the highly
regarded STRAND restaurant, the pioneering establishment in the
revitalization campaign afoot in South Beach. Popular, inventive and
held in high esteem, he was fired in 1990. The owners gave him a
special bonus, and Michael decided that with six months of bills taken
care of, he’d try his hand at self-employment, illustrating for skin
rags. Since that time his work has appeared in FRESHMEN, TORSO, GENT, PLAYGUY, SUGAH, MANDATE, INCHES,
CAVALIER, HONCHO, NUGGET and countless other magazines.
He’s had individual shows at the Tom of Finland Company in Los Angles,
the Peter Madero Gallery in NY, and the Dakota Bar on Second Avenue as
well as appearing in group showcases in Portland and Miami. His images
have circulated all over the world and his original drawings are
highly sought after by collectors. Fans of his work have flocked to
his web site
KirwanArts.com
and
left loving tributes to his undeniable talents. Michael Kirwan is
a sparkling and amazing man, a true original, and I’m so grateful for
these many, many years to have had the chance to be him. |
