Nan Goldin was born in 1953, and started Photography 15 years later when she got her first camera. When she was 19, she met the photographer David Armstrong at the School of Fine Arts in Boston. Armstrong became a drag queen, and she began to Photograph him.
Goldin started photographing in Black & White but soon her pictures where much more saturated and with the use of artificial lights.
For 15 years she developed her masterpiece "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency". Her pictures often suggested a lot of violence, drugs, sex and parties.
Goldin lost her sister Barbara for suicide when she was 14, and since then her personal life has been reflected on her photographs.
Once, she published a picture of herself after being beaten by her boyfriend, which caused a lot of rumors. (The Picture above).
She also has many problems with drugs and alcohol, and lost many friends for AIDS.
Goldin currently resides in NYC and I hope to one day meet her.
"My work originally came from the snapshot aesthetic . . . Snapshots are taken out of love and to remember people, places, and shared times. They're about creating a history by recording a history." - Nan Goldin
"I believe one should create from what one knows and speak about one's tribe . . .You can only speak with true understanding and empathy about what you've experienced."
