Nan Goldin on “refusing to let my current retrospective go to Israel”
American photographer Nan Goldin has said a lifelong “cultural boycott of Israel” meant she refused to let the award-winning documentary film about her life, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, from being released in Israel.
Goldin’s work as an activist and creative often broaches the devastation of the opioid epidemic, the HIV/AIDS crisis and LGBT issues, and she recently told n+1 that the Laura Poitras-directed film about her life and career would not be airing in Israel.
“Personally, I’ve been on a cultural boycott of Israel for my whole life,” she said. “I turned down speaking, teaching, and exhibition opportunities, including refusing to let my current retrospective go to Israel.”
In 2018, Goldin pulled her work from the Zabludowicz Collection, alleging its owners were “Israeli arms dealers”, and has been a vocal force advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza and Palestinian liberation.
After signing an open letter calling for a ceasefire earlier this year, she was told collectors and art advisors wouldn’t want to work with her anymore.
“I had sales that were cancelled. Somebody returned a work of mine,” she said. “I got a call from someone telling me to pull my name from the letter, or put out a written statement and apologize because the letter didn’t explicitly condemn Hamas.”
She continued: “Of course, we condemn Hamas’s brutality that day, but the letter was basically a demand for a ceasefire. It was written that we opposed civilians being killed on both sides. I was very surprised that I got such pushback from collectors and art advisors.”
Her stance has caused significant backlash, with Goldin saying: “My career has already suffered from this. It’s not like I’m immune from the effects of this.”