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Photographers
Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin ( 1953 - present ) is one of the leading contemporary
American photographers. She is often compared to Diane Arbus ( 1923 -
1971 ) and can be seen to have influenced the styles of a diverse range
of contemporary photographers, such as Nobuyoshi Araki ( 1940 - present
) and Larry Clarke ( 1943 - present ).
The focus of her early work is a documentation of (her choice of)
intimate moments between members of her friends and those she has chosen
as her surrogate "family", as well as self portraits. Her early style
follows the contemporary American trend of quick, almost unposed
photographs taken in available light. Her more recent, later works have
become more impersonal and have included land- and sea- scapes as well
as children and childhood.
Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in an
upper-middle-class Jewish family in the Boston, Massachusetts suburb of
Lexington. She ran away from home and was fostered by a variety of
families in her teens. Her sister committed suicide at a very early age.
These events set the tone for much of Goldins life and work. During 1968
in Boston, Goldin was introduced to photography at the age of fifteen,
and progressed to study and graduate from the Boston Tufts University
with a qualification in Fine Arts in 1977/78.
Goldin moved to New York after graduation and became involved in - and
documented - the post-punk scene in the city, as well as continuing to
capture images of the vibrant gay and transsexual subcultures.
She began using hard drugs, even as she continued to document her life
and lifestyle. Her pieces from this era are probably the most iconic and
famous, certainly the most referenced, of Goldins, and were released as
a series known as *The Ballad of Sexual Dependency*. The works that form
"The Ballad..." is a very personal reflection on sexual relationships,
domestic violence, substance abuse, so-called alternative lifestyles and
male social isolation. She is displaying her vision of her lifestyle,
the times she is it living in and how it affects her and those around
her.
The series was followed by others, like "I'll be your mirror" and "All
by Myself" Her work was criticized for making heroin use seem
glamorous. This was not the case, though. Most of Goldins subjects were
dead by the mid 1990's from AIDS or drug abuse and overdoses. These
collections of photographs were depicting their reality, not an
invention.
The deaths of so many of her subjects also marks the turning in her
career towards her recent style, particularly that of Dorothy "Cookie"
Mueller (1949 - 1989) the actress and novelist and often-photographed
subject of Goldin's, who died from AIDS at the end of the eighties. As
discussed earlier, this work has turned towards landscapes, including
the New York skyline and waterscapes, often including figures of women
in water, her then lover, Siobhan, and babies, childhood and family
life. Goldin is very much in demand in the contemporary art world and
art market, and many of her recent projects have been collaborative in
nature. She has worked on a book project - "Tokyo Love" with the
Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and released the collection "The
Devil's Playground" - a book project which included written pieces from
authors like Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen.
Photo: nangoldin
External links
15 pictures of Nan Goldin:
http://www.yvon-lambert.com/index_pr.php?section=art_pr&artist=na_goldin
Interview and pictures:
http://fototapeta.art.pl/2003/ngie.php
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Irina Werning
is well-known because of a fascinating project,
in which she has convinced people to 'recreate' their old photos. You
can admire the result via the first link below. She's done a wonderful
job there.
She did more, however...
http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/
http://irinawerning.com/damned-and-beautiful/damned-and-beautiful/
http://irinawerning.com/chini/a-day-in-the-life-of-my-muse/
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