David Woodard is 62 years old as of October 2026. He was born on 6 April 1964.
Quick facts
Date of birth6 April 1964
Age62
NationalityAmerican
BirthplaceSanta Barbara, United States
Editor's Take:
David Woodard shows how provocation can stand in for conventional fame. His Dreamachines tied him to the circle around William S. Burroughs, and one replica reached a major museum show. His prequiems drew attention mainly because of their subjects, and one critic suggested the outrage was part of the work itself. Journalists also questioned many of his claims about his own life. In 2025, Wikipedia editors uncovered a large network of accounts promoting him, thought to be run by him or people close to him. That makes careful sourcing about him especially important.
Key Milestones
1987: Moved to Napa, California, and took work at Tulocay Cemetery
1996: A replica of his Dreamachine was shown at the LACMA Burroughs retrospective Ports of Entry
2001: Planned a prequiem Mass for Timothy McVeigh, and premiered its coda near Terre Haute
2004: Visited Nueva Germania in Paraguay and composed a piece for the place
2011: Five Years, his correspondence with Christian Kracht, was published
David James Woodard (born 1964) is an American artist known for his controversial performances. Through the 1990s and 2000s, Woodard constructed and sold stroboscopic light devices known as Dreamachines.
David Woodard was born in Santa Barbara on 6 April 1964.
He built and sold replicas of the Dreamachine, a flickering-light device devised by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville, and befriended William S. Burroughs.
He coined the term prequiem for music written for people or animals close to death, including pieces for Joe DiMaggio and Timothy McVeigh.
He worked with Swiss novelist Christian Kracht on a Nueva Germania project in Paraguay, and their letters appeared as Five Years in 2011.
Career highlights
1987Move to Napa: Worked at Tulocay Cemetery
1996Dreamachine at LACMA: Replica shown in Burroughs retrospective
2001McVeigh prequiem: Mass planned before execution
2004Nueva Germania visit: Wrote a piece for the settlement
2011Five Years published: Letters shared with Christian Kracht
Did you know?His 2000 chapter on ketamine in the anthology Apocalypse Culture II led Russia to pull the book from circulation, destroy copies and fine the printer.
