Thursday, March 16, 2023

All The Beauty And The Bloodshed

A truly great David and Goliath story, and its totally based... on a true story! Nan Goldin is a definite known name in the photography world, but when tackling the powers that be, Multi-Billion Dollar powers that be (with international connections), an artist in a niche genre is not exactly on a level playing field with the gods of finance.

Throughout their legal proceedings, The Sacklers never once expressed remorse, or any semblance of human emotion or empathy, for the real life victims of their greed- avoiding bad publicity and further financial consequence were their only considerations. But All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is not just about the mostly triumphant victory* of art over blood money, that is, how Goldin waged a ridiculously uphill battle against the financial purveyors of America's ongoing opiate epidemic, it is also about her tragic youth and upbringing, the travails of her adult life, and finally, about the art she continued to make despite the personal trauma. Brave woman, braver warrior, brave human being and artist.


*The Sacklers will still have more money at the end of the time allotted by the court to disperse their $6 Billion dollar fine- than they do now thanks to the careful manipulation of their monies.

Addendum: The Fraenkel Gallery currently has an exhibition of Goldin's more recent work (including a slide show) till 4/29.

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