Looking In: Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependancy

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There is so much to say about Nan Goldin's work that it almost seems redundant to say it again. And yet, in this case, repetition is not only inevitable but necessary. Her work speaks of a generation that has not been forgotten; she has refused to let us forget her, and for that, we are grateful. Thinking of American Beauty (1999), Sam Mendes's portrait of the collapse of post-1960s America, there is a moment in the film's final scene where Ricky Fitts, played by Wes Bentley, delivers a monologue: “It’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I see it all at once and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon about to burst… And then I remember to relax and stop trying to hold on to it, and it flows through me like rain, and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every moment of my stupid little life… You have no idea what I’m saying, I’m sure. But don’t worry… someday you will.” That feeling comes over and over again when we encounter Nan Goldin's visual diary, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency.

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Author:

Sarah Roig

Printed by:

BONART