Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependence at MoMA

Nan Goldin (b. Amer 1953) is a renown & highly awarded photographer.  She received The French Legion of Honor Award in ('06.)  This is interesting because many of Goldin's photos are sexually provocative & Americans are generally regarded prudish.  Her works are often compared with Cindy Sherman & Jean Arbus.   Goldin, like Sherman, puts herself in many of her photos.   Unlike Sherman, Goldin isn't masked in facade.  Goldin chooses to use photography as her own journal in a very candid & graphic style.  I consider her work exhibitionistic but the viewer is a voyeuristic participant.  Like Arbus, Goldin photographed the gay community and shared a fascination with drag queens.  There is a similar wry aesthetic Goldin & Arbus share.   These photographers are all women of a contemporary era rendering their ouevres for comparison.  The photos share a theme of "sexual dependence" which is the title of her 42 minute audio/visual film comprised of photo portraits with an evocative soundtrack.  Her photos on display (all of which are owned by MoMA & many donated by the artist) are striking in  their titilating subject matters & for the pathos of isolation observed in a relationship or sexual embrace.  There is a disturbing sadness or bizarreness to these photos all shot from the late 1970's-1980's, although many were only recently printed.  The only 2 seemingly content or happy photos were of an elderly couple & a couple just married.  Perhaps insinuating the diminished sexual dependence & the implication of sexual promise.  Goldin uses a tint from the 3 primary for emotional impact.  My favorite photo is a sepia still life showing her parent's wedding photo atop an old bureua in a bare room. There is a feeling of abandonment or transition to this quiet & impregnanting image.  If you're depending on my recommendation - "The Ballad…" should be added to the must see list."