Artist Analysis #7

Artist Analysis #7

Nan Goldin

"Misty and Jimmy Paulette in a taxi, NYC" (1991)

The photograph "Misty and Jimmy Paulette in a taxi, NYC is a large scale color print (30 x 40inches) of two drag queens in a taxi. The subjects, Misty and Jimmy, fill the majority of the frame, staring directly into the camera. Both seem to have an attitude toward their photographer, as if the lens is an unwanted intruder in a private moment. This image has a snap-shot aesthetic, and the majority of the light in the image seems to be provided by a natural source (the daylight coming in through the windows). The subjects are backlit by the window behind them, but it is not over exposed, and their faces are also properly exposed. The queens provide a pop of color in the photograph (blue hair, red lips, a gold top) while their surroundings are relatively muted (except for the yellow taxis in the background, which (according to the title) are an important aspect of the image). 

I chose this photograph because, as our recent section has been about documentary photography, this was an interesting example of an image that has both documentary quality and a "staged" feel. Goldin's work often involved performers from the drag culture in New York (a group in which she had many friends). While this shot initially appears to be a moment in time caught by an objective viewer (the documentary lens), knowing that Goldin was probably friends with Misty and Jimmy, as well as the fact that the image is take from the front seat of a cab (which is not a shot that would happen "by chance"), the image then takes on a staged feel. Were the subjects coached to give attitude to the camera? Does this image accurately represent the mood of that moment? Much of Goldin's work focused on the drag culture (again, which she was personally close to), so it is clear that she was not an objective viewer.