Nan Goldin
Born in 1953 · United States
Telling a history from within.
The story
Nan Goldin photographs loved ones, relationships and the places of her life, inscribing her own experience within the images. The Ballad of Sexual Dependency became a slideshow combining photography and music. Desire, violence, loss and solidarity run through this intimate archive. The work carries the memory of communities devastated by AIDS and extends into public activism in which personal experiences meet cultural and collective concerns.
Understanding the work
Read shifts in atmosphere and sequences of images rather than searching for a single icon. The author’s closeness does not guarantee transparency: editing remains an act of storytelling and memory.
Key works and series
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency; The Other Side; slideshows and installations.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
- MoMA · 1981
David and Butch Crying at Tin Pan Alley, New York City
Silver dye bleach print, printed 2009
- MoMA · 1981
Philippe H. and Suzanne Kissing at Euthanasia, New York City
Silver dye bleach print, printed 2008