Nan Goldin
On the Beach, Boston
1974

Name: On the Beach, Boston
Brand: Nan Goldin
Price: 12950 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Nan Goldin (b. 1953) is one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1970s, Goldin took candid shots of her friends and lovers, characters often living on the margins of society. Many of Goldin's images are like entries from a diary; recording intimate elements from both her daily life and her adventures. The spirit of Goldin's work, which is often raw, tender, and audacious, has strong roots in her formative years. She was introduced to photography at the age of 16. The medium became an important outlet for Goldin. As a teenager she was deeply affected by her sister's suicide. Photography became a way to process and connect with others. After leaving home Goldin became involved with Boston's Drag scene, befriending or living with a host of young performers and trans women. Over a period of around four years (1970-1974) Goldin documented and depicted her new-found community and crew. Unlike images created by Diane Arbus, Goldin's photographs possessed an inherent admiration for her subjects and an overarching feeling of joy. Goldin showed her friends in both domestic and social environments with a strong sense of pride and ease. Goldin validates her friends' ambitions or feminine identity and celebrates them as people, as performers, as beauties. "On the Beach, Boston" is a striking and early example of Goldin's Boston period. It is possibly one of the earliest photos she printed, as she uses her full name Nancy Goldin. In this black and white photograph, Goldin captures her subject sprawled across a beach-like backdrop. While Goldin's later images are frequently melancholy or dreamy, here there is a surprising playfulness approaching satire. Shoes are strewn about as if to mimic the casual nature of an actual beach, while her subject relaxes under a cartoon-like palm tree affixed to the wall. While at odds with her typically candid aesthetic, there is an intimacy and DIY glamour that is consistent with Goldin's oeuvre. This photograph is a paradigm of the poignant and innovative black and white photography of Goldin's early years. This is a rare opportunity to acquire an impressive and early piece by one of the most accomplished photographers of the 20th century. “On the Beach, Boston" USA, 1974 Silver print Signed by the artist on verso 10.5"H 7.25"W (image) 14"H 11"W (sheet) 18"H 14.75"W (framed) Very good condition. Note: This work is not editioned, typical of photographs printed in this era.

Creator:

Nan Goldin (1953, American)

Creation Year:

1974

Dimensions:

Height: 14 in (35.56 cm)Width: 11 in (27.94 cm)

Medium:

Silver Gelatin

Movement & Style:

Post-Modern

Period:

1970-1979

Condition:

Very good condition.

Gallery Location:

Toronto, CA

Reference Number:

Seller: 05-221stDibs: LU215210229622

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Nan Goldin

When Nan Goldin discovered a flourishing drag queen community as an 18-year-old navigating downtown Boston, it would mark the start of her widely influential photography career and lay the foundation of the seminal work that would follow years later — “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency,” an ongoing series of stark, flash-lit snapshots documenting her experiences with the LGBTQ+ scene, most notably during the AIDS epidemic.

Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., but raised in Massachusetts. She left home around age 13 or 14, moved into a commune and attended a free experimental high school called Satya Community School, where she began shooting Polaroids of herself as well as her classmates. She found inspiration in the work of Andy Warhol, Larry Clark, Diane Arbus, Weegee, August Sander and in the glossy pages of French and Italian Vogue. Goldin attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and moved to New York City soon after she graduated.

Goldin was particularly drawn to the avant-garde music scene in Manhattan in the late 1970s and early ’80s, and “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” would include many photos taken in her newly adopted city. Goldin first exhibited the series at the Whitney Biennial in 1985 before publishing it as a book a year later. In its startling honesty, Goldin’s gripping portraits captured sexual relationships, frank drug use, intimate scenes in the homes of families, partying at bars, domestic violence and the AIDS-related horrors faced by those in the era’s LGBTQ+ community. More than 700 images were featured in exhibitions over the years compared to the book’s 127 portraits.

“‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’ is the diary I let people read,” wrote Goldin. “The diary is my form of control over my life. It allows me to obsessively record every detail. It enables me to remember.”

Goldin also felt that the project was autobiographical in a way, though only some of the images were self-portraits. “These were the people I lived with, these were my friends, these were my family, this was myself. I’d photograph people dancing while I was dancing. Or people having sex while I was having sex. Or people drinking while I was drinking. There was no separation between me and what I was photographing,” she told Bomb magazine.

Over the years, Goldin has collaborated with Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and completed projects for Jimmy Choo and Bottega Veneta. While her work has broadened to include New York City skylines, portraiture and commercial fashion photography, her commitment to documentary-style honesty has never wavered. In 2006, as part of Goldin’s "Chasing a Ghost” exhibit in New York City, a presentation was projected on three screens involving videos, photography and a musical collage focused on her older sister, Barbara, who took her own life in 1965.

Among Goldin’s many accolades are her admission to the French Legion of Honor in 2006, the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in 2007 and the Lucie Award in 2014.

Find a collection of original Nan Goldin photography on 1stDibs.