US artist Nan Goldin at the top of "ArtReview"
US artist Nan Goldin is currently the most influential figure on the international art scene according to the British magazine "ArtReview". The London-based magazine placed the 70-year-old artist and activist at the top of its annual "Power 100" list of the most important artists on Friday. Berlin-based artist Hito Steyerl follows in second place.
"The Power List is a ranking of the hundred living personalities who shape art," writes the magazine. ArtReview itself relativizes the significance of such lists - last week, the German magazine "Monopol" presented a ranking also comprising 100 positions with Isa Genzken at the top. "Who should be where is a topic on which no one really agrees. What makes someone influential in London or New York is not necessarily what makes someone influential in Lagos or Kuala Lumpur," the article says.
Addicted fighter in the opioid crisis
The photographer and filmmaker Goldin, who also lived in Berlin for a long time, recently became known for her fight against the US Sackler family, the owners of a pharmaceutical company that is partly responsible for the opioid crisis in the USA.
The artist herself was addicted to a painkiller marketed by the company. She captured her own experiences and the extensive protests with her pictures. The documentary "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" by Laura Poitras about this struggle won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
In the view of "ArtReview", Goldin is the "most visible and prominent model" of an artist who not only documents and bears witness, but also acts as an activist and ethical voice.
Artist and oracle
ArtReview sees Steyerl as a pioneer of post-internet art, whose work explores the connection between technology and digital culture with capital and conflict. "Sensing and depicting the seismic shifts in culture and society have made Steyerl a kind of oracle," writes the magazine.
The top ten of the "Power 100" are strikingly diverse and female. Action and performance artist Rirkrit Tiravanija (third place), who works between Bangkok, Berlin and New York, is included, as is US artist Simone Leigh (fourth place), a long-time campaigner for black feminist art. British artist Isaac Julien, Ghanaian-born Ibrahim Mahama, US conceptual artist Theaster Gates and British director Steve McQueen ("12 Years a Slave") are four more artists for whom dealing with racism is part of their artistic work.
The indigenous Karrabing Film Collective and Chinese media artist Cao Fei complete the top ten of the ArtReview list.
Nan Goldin's impact on the art scene extends beyond her photography, as she has also become a prominent figure in the fight against the opioid crisis, using her art to raise awareness and advocate for change. This activism has earned her recognition as a powerful force in the art world, influencing not just people in the art community, but also those affected by the opioid crisis.
The contemporary art scene is enriched by artists like Hito Steyerl, who uses her work to explore the relationship between technology, digital culture, capitalism, and conflict. Her insightful perspectives have made her a sort of oracle, predicting and reflecting significant shifts in culture and society.
Source: www.dpa.com
