We don’t have an image of this object online yet. V&A Images may have a photograph that we can’t show online, but it may be possible to supply one to you. Email us at vaimages@vam.ac.uk for guidance about fees and timescales, quoting the accession number: E.53-1997
Find out about our images

Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case A4, Shelf EDUC, Box 14.1

Misty and Joey at Hornstrasse

Photograph
1992 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

'I don't select people in order to photograph them, I photograph directly from my life. These pictures come out of relationships, not observation'. Nan Goldin, The Other Side, Cornerhouse 1993

Nan Goldin began taking photographs in her late teens, creating a visual diary of her life and the lives of her friends. Personal relationships is a running theme in most of Goldin’s work from the past twenty years and many of her published photographs focus on sexual identity. The relationship between the photographer and subject is clear in her photographs; she neither glamorises nor exploits them. Rather, she captures them undertaking ordinary, everday acts, both private and social.

Goldin’s book, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, was one of the most influential series of photographs of the 1980s. It was originally presented as a slide show accompanied by a soundtrack and brought an intimate, even amateur, approach to photography into the arena of contemporary art. It is a pictorial journey, documenting, with total candour, Goldin’s ‘extended family’ of Bohemian friends, drug addicts, transvestites, clubbers and lovers. The images are particularly powerful because of the photographer's involvement with her subjects over a 20 year period.

Goldin’s earliest photographs were taken whilst she was still a student in Boston. She photographed a group of drag queens who grew to become some of her closest friends. Over twenty years later in New York, Goldin revisited the subject and began documenting the lives of a group of transvestites, but this time in colour. This snapshot of drag queen Misty, reveals Goldin’s signature style and informal approach to photography. The casual composition, paired with the use of direct flash creates a powerful image that highlights Goldin’s relationship with her subjects.

Delve deeper

Discover more about this object
read Photographing masculinities: gender, identity and the gaze Historically, men's fashion has been subjected to strict rules and conventions, reflecting rank and identity. Today, ideas of masculinity are shifting in response to societal changes, questioning what it means to be 'male'.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleMisty and Joey at Hornstrasse (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Dye destruction print on photographic paper
Brief description
Photograph by Nan Goldin, 'Misty and Joey at Hornstrasse', dye destruction print, printed 1992, published 1996
Physical description
A colour photograph depicting the drag queen Misty (Miss Demeanor) and Joey at Hornstrasse, Berlin. Misty, who is visible in the foreground, is wearing a cropped blue wig and black dress. Joey is standing in the doorway and wearing a long blonde wig.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 41cm
  • Sheet width: 51cm
  • Image height: 33.5cm
  • Image width: 49cm
Dimensions taken from Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1997
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Signed in black ink on the back 'Nan Goldin'. Inscribed in black ink on the back with title and '6/44'
Credit line
Copyright Nan Goldin, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Object history
Nan Goldin’s book The Ballad of Sexual Dependency was one of the most influential series of photographs of the 1980's. It was originally presented as a slide show accompanied by a rock soundtrack and brought an intimate, even amateur, use of photography into the arena of contemporary art. It is a pictorial journey, documenting, with total candour, Goldin’s ‘extended family’ of Bohemian friends, drug addicts, transvestites, clubbers and battered lovers. The images are particularly powerful because of the photographer's involvement with her subjects over a 20 year period.
Subjects depicted
Associations
Summary
'I don't select people in order to photograph them, I photograph directly from my life. These pictures come out of relationships, not observation'. Nan Goldin, The Other Side, Cornerhouse 1993

Nan Goldin began taking photographs in her late teens, creating a visual diary of her life and the lives of her friends. Personal relationships is a running theme in most of Goldin’s work from the past twenty years and many of her published photographs focus on sexual identity. The relationship between the photographer and subject is clear in her photographs; she neither glamorises nor exploits them. Rather, she captures them undertaking ordinary, everday acts, both private and social.

Goldin’s book, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, was one of the most influential series of photographs of the 1980s. It was originally presented as a slide show accompanied by a soundtrack and brought an intimate, even amateur, approach to photography into the arena of contemporary art. It is a pictorial journey, documenting, with total candour, Goldin’s ‘extended family’ of Bohemian friends, drug addicts, transvestites, clubbers and lovers. The images are particularly powerful because of the photographer's involvement with her subjects over a 20 year period.

Goldin’s earliest photographs were taken whilst she was still a student in Boston. She photographed a group of drag queens who grew to become some of her closest friends. Over twenty years later in New York, Goldin revisited the subject and began documenting the lives of a group of transvestites, but this time in colour. This snapshot of drag queen Misty, reveals Goldin’s signature style and informal approach to photography. The casual composition, paired with the use of direct flash creates a powerful image that highlights Goldin’s relationship with her subjects.
Bibliographic reference
Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1997
Collection
Accession number
E.53-1997

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJuly 25, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSON