Thanksgiving, a work by New York photographer Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin – Thanksgiving From The Sir Elton John Photography Collection
Level 2
21 September 2007 – 6 January 2008.
Thanksgiving, a work by New York photographer Nan Goldin, will be on show at BALTIC Centre For Contemporary Art, courtesy of The Sir Elton John Photography Collection from 21 September 2007 until 6 January 2008.
Thanksgiving is an installation of photographs that documents Goldin’s life from 1973 to 1999 - a micro-retrospective of her career. This first person account of life among her friends, lovers and acquaintances allows the viewer inside the private dramas of people and situations normally considered to be on the outer reaches of social acceptability.
The images chronicle both surviving friendships and friends Goldin has lost, many to AIDS or drug addiction, Goldin adds: "My desire is to preserve the sense of people's lives, to endow them with the strength and beauty I see in them. I want the people in my pictures to stare back."
Thanksgiving illustrates many uncomfortable moments from Goldin’s personal life and shows us the range of her photographic practice. The emotional states of her subjects are visually intensified by her focus on interior spaces, lush colour, and theatrical lighting giving a sense of intimacy and informality. Her subjects do not appear as objects of distant voyeurism, but are simply friends who have grown used to the camera's inevitable presence. This immediacy captured in Goldin’s earlier work is matched by the intensity of her later images of light-infused landscapes.
This exhibition is a unique opportunity to see a mini-survey of Nan Goldin and has been made possible by one of the UK’s leading collectors of photography, Elton John. Jane Jackson, Curator of The Sir Elton John Photography Collection adds: ‘Elton was first attracted to the directness, truth and poignancy of photography and her work forms a central part of Elton John’s collection. She is recognised as one of the world's most prolific, important and compelling contemporary photographers and her work has not only had a lasting impact on photography and film-making.”
Peter Doroshenko, Director of BALTIC adds: “We are delighted to be showing work from Elton’s expansive collection. During this autumn season we are presenting two exhibitions taken from private collections; courtesy of Elton John and the Zabludowicz Collection, enabling the public to see works that would not normally be available to them. This is a direction that BALTIC will explore more in 2008 and 2009 when we present exhibitions taken from collections belonging to artists, art critics and corporate organisations.”
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