When I put my big retrospective together in '96 [for the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York], I saw that there were all these pictures of people inside looking out. All these pictures of women in water and mirrors. I don't know what it means. Nan Goldin More Quotes by Nan Goldin More Quotes From Nan Goldin I used to think that I could never lose anyone if I photographed them enough. In fact, my pictures show me how much I’ve lost. Nan Goldin enough facts thinking My desire is to preserve the sense of people’s lives, to endow them with the strength and beauty I see in them. I want the people in my pictures to stare back. Nan Goldin want desire people A lot of people seem to think that art or photography is about the way things look, or the surface of things. That's not what it's about for me. It's really about relationships and feelings...it's really hard for me to do commercial work because people kind of want me to do a Nan Goldin. They don't understand that it's not about a style or a look or a setup. It's about emotional obsession and empathy. Nan Goldin emotional photography art Yes, photography saved my life. Every time I go through something scary, traumatic, I survive by taking pictures. Nan Goldin taking-pictures scary photography For me it is not a detachment to take a picture. It's a way of touching somebody - it's a caress… I think that you can actually give people access to their own soul. Nan Goldin giving people thinking I always thought if I photographed anyone or anything enough, I would never lose the person, I would never lose the memory, I would never lose the place. But the pictures show me how much I've lost. Nan Goldin enough lost memories My work has been about making a record of my life that no one can revise. I photograph myself in times of trouble or change in order to find the ground to stand on in the change. I was coming out of a melancholic phase. This was taken when I was traveling extensively, on the road from hotel to hotel. You get displaced, and then taking self-portraits becomes a way of hanging on to yourself. Nan Goldin taken self order The camera is as much a part of my everyday life as talking or eating or sex. Nan Goldin everyday talking sex I knew from a very early age, that what I saw on tv had nothing to do with real life. So I wanted to make a record of real life. That included having a camera with me at all times. Nan Goldin cameras real age My work shows the beauty in so many different kinds of people because I never photograph anyone who I don't think is beautiful. I never take an intentionally mean picture. Nan Goldin beautiful mean thinking My work is mostly about memory. It is very important to me that everybody that I have been close to in my life I make photographs of them. Nan Goldin important photograph memories There are ways of angling the camera. I don't just use a tripod. The only time I did that was in '88 when I first came out of detox, I spent every day doing self-portraits to fit back into my own skin. I didn't know what the world looked like - what I looked like - so in order to fit back into myself, I took self-portraits everyday to give myself courage and to fit the pieces back together. I used a tripod then. Nan Goldin self giving order I just get inspired to take a picture by the beauty and vulnerability of my friends. Nan Goldin vulnerability inspired my-friends I think the wrong things are kept private Nan Goldin wrong-things thinking If I want to take a picture, I take it no matter what. Nan Goldin no-matter-what matter want I usually work really instinctively and it's afterwards that I think about what it means. I don't know consciously that I have these themes that run through my work. Nan Goldin running mean thinking It's so rare to see a woman's sexuality, real female sexuality, either in the shows or in the clothes. Nan Goldin clothes female real Of course I was wearing make-up, I never went anywhere without red lipstick for 25 years! It was a form of self-preservation for me to continue to wear lipstick even though my face was broken. Nan Goldin broken self years I'm very influenced by a lot of things, but my chief influence is my friends and what I see and what I feel and my own experiences and memory. Nan Goldin chiefs influence memories You know it's said that you make your own face. So you don't really have a face until you are 30 or your mid-20s. When you are starting to grow up and show your character in your face. Nan Goldin growing-up faces character
