The Photographer Nan Goldin Named the Most Influential Artist in the World

One of the most renowned photographers globally, Nan Goldin, topped this year's ArtReview Power 100 list of the most influential figures in the contemporary art world.

This information is reported by The Guardian.

In her works, Goldin highlights the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals and the crisis related to AIDS. Additionally, the artist's portfolio includes a legendary series of photographs from the 80s titled "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency," showcasing lovers and strangers simply conversing, meeting, fighting on beaches, or in bars around the world.

Furthermore, overcoming her own addiction to OxyContin, Goldin founded the advocacy group "Prescription Addiction Intervention Now" in 2017. The organization's main goal is to pressure museums and art institutions to disassociate from the Sackler family, whose company played a significant role in the unfolding of the so-called "opioid epidemic," claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Thanks to Goldin's organization's efforts in recent years, the Sackler name has started disappearing from museums and galleries worldwide.

A documentary film titled "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" was made about the photographer's activism. The work received the "Golden Lion" at last year's Venice Film Festival.

It's worth noting that, for the first time this year, only artists using their creativity to highlight and promote significant social and political issues entered the top 10 of the ArtReview Power 100. The list also included artists such as Hito Steyerl – German film director, artist, and writer; Rirkrit Tiravanija – Thai artist; Simone Leigh – American artist; Isaac Julien – British artist-installer and director, among others.

Recall that The Gaze previously reported that three Ukrainian women entered the list of the 100 most influential women in the world according to the BBC. Among them are the well-known Ukrainian writer and intellectual Oksana Zabuzhko, children's rights advocate Olena Rozvadovska, and the leading Ukrainian expert on climate policy Iryna Stavchuk.