Who? Nan Goldin.
What? The eponymously titled Variety, exhibits a series of photographic stills taken by the prolific photographer who – most renowned for her gritty and raw images of friends and hangers on taking part in intimate, illicit and sometimes illegal activities – documented on-set images of Bette Gordon’s now-infamous 1983 independent film.
Why? Offering a rare glimpse into Goldin’s symbiotic working process these images, which have never before been the subject of an exhibition, blur the line between reality and fiction and further emphasise the connection and empathy Goldin frequently has with her subjects. Revealing a previously unexamined but important aspect of Goldin’s career, this series also captures the unique atmosphere of the film Variety, emblematic of the cinematic art that surfaced from the creative community on New York’s Lower East Side at the beginning of the 1980s.
If you didn’t get a chance to visit Nan Goldin, Berlin which finished yesterday make sure you see Nan Goldin, Variety which opens today – 13 May at Galerie Guy Bärtschi, Switzerland. Variety: Photographs by Nan Goldin, published by Rizzoli New York, is out now.
Text by Lucia Davies
