Nan Goldin began the documentation of her weird adventures, tragic moments, and sexual escapades in the late 1970’s. With various locations as the backdrops, the viewer is exposed to a startling depiction of life. Goldin chooses available light and obscure angles to produce a surprisingly sympathetic raw feeling projecting from her photographs. Much has been written about this depiction of Goldin’s everyday. I have chosen to use a psychoanalytic lens to view Goldin’s work through. Applying some theories put forth by Hanna Segal, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Jacques Lacan, Nancy Chodorow, and W. Winnicott, the viewer is presented with a new reading of Goldin’s early work. The photographs that will be discussed are taken from the beginning of Goldin’s practice as a photographer: Barbara in front of family house, Silver Spring, Md 1964 (fig, 1), Anthony by the sea, Brighton, England 1979 (fig 2.), Self portrait in blue bathroom, London 1980 (fig 3.), Nan and Brian in bed, New York City 1983 (fig 4.), and Brian with the Flintstones, New York City 1981 (fig 5.)
Much of Goldin’s early work can be categorized as self-representation. The people, places, and things that make up her life are clearly documented. Some of the psychoanalytic theories put forth by the afore mentioned theorists can be applied to Goldin’s self-portraits, and what I call, indirect self-portraits. These are photographs that showcase Goldin with a friend or lover. Some of these theories are: the depressive position, the Oedipus complex, symbolic formation, the “I” formation, feminine identity, and the transitional object. Each of these theories will be discussed along with a photograph of Goldin’s.
Nan Goldin’s biography is heavily related to her artwork and information about her is of value to understanding this body of work. She was born on September 12, 1953 in Washington D.C. Living with her Mother, Father, and older Sister, Barbara, Goldin began to photograph at the age of 15 while she attended the Satya Community School in Lincoln, Massachusetts. 1974 to 1977 saw Goldin attending Imageworks in Cambridge and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where she learned the techniques of color photography. In 1977 she graduated with a bachelors of fine arts.[i] The following year Goldin moved to Manhattan. It is here that she would begin the documentation of her life in New York and various European cities for the next fifteen years.[ii] Currently, Nan Goldin has experimented with film and other subject matter for her photographs. Throughout her career, Goldin’s various self-portraits give the viewer a window into the artists’ psyche.
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