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perfect poetry
brilliant woman telling her intimate story
factual and slow yet fearless and inspiring
Inspirational! This documentary about artist and activist Nan Goldin can be described as nothing else. Offering a great insight into Goldin’s life we explore her story through chapters. Albeit the chapter titles are better and more thoughtful than these, it gives us a sense of how she has a passion for crafting and persuading her audience’s emotions.
Although from memory there might be seven chapters, they loosely follow this format.
The Setup
The Art
The Life and Lifestyle
The Activism
The Reason
The Completion
Understanding who Golding is, why she’s passionate about her campaign against the Sackler family, and for people’s voices to be heard, is clear. We quickly learn that Goldin’s art never appears in the same format twice and that she specifically edits her screenings to match the approval of those in her portraits. This leads her to re-edit both the order and music of her screenings, showing that she’s considerate of creating stories that provoke certain emotions, emotions that Goldin wants us to experience.
The photography she captures is that of her life, her lifestyle and the community around her in metropolitan America. And the community, or rather communities she is surrounded by and heavily involved with are all the bit interesting. They are under-represented and not overly understood especially during the 70s and 80s of America. Specifically, there’s a strong focus on her personal history with sex workers alongside the majority of her friends being part of the LGBT community. Coming into contact with the suffering of these people and understanding their struggles likely grows the element of standing up for one’s self that we later see as the hatred towards the Sacklers grows.
Goldin breaks down her experiences personally. She explores sexuality with her friends, capturing the intimate moments, and opening the doors on these often closed-door moments through her slideshow screenings. Highlighting and showcasing the beauty of the female body in a light that’s a direct contrast to the world of sex workers. Goldin mentions how she’s battled her opioid addiction and then demonstrates her willingness to tackle the wider crisis that is sweeping America.
As Goldin narrates All The Beauty and the Bloodshed she states that it’s a story of conformity, expectation and rebellion. And rebel she does. There’s a euphoric moment when the activists of P.A.I.N (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) protest inside the Guggenheim museum. P.A.I.N’s continued efforts of campaigning take us on a rollercoaster of campaigning wins with galleries refusing Sackler money to the removal of the name across the art world, to the lows of funerals and heartbreaking testimonials heard in court.
Goldin took a risk to her career for what she believed in by standing up to the Sacklers. Documenting it in this way, alongside her telling us about her personal life and early career, creates a beautiful and inspirational piece of art in its own right.
Andy Cook 