I Flew Across the Country to Look at the Most Controversial Work of Art in Canada | The Walrus

"Goldin's slideshow splices together photographs she's taken throughout her more than fifty-year career-of friends, lovers, narcissists-with the Classical, Renaissance, and Baroque masterpieces that have moved her over two decades of museum visits."

"The Art Gallery of Ontario, which owns three of Goldin's works, had planned to acquire the piece jointly with the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis."

"Goldin-who had been outspoken about the ongoing genocide in Gaza-was declared 'antisemitic' by Schulich; another committee member compared Goldin to Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl."

"Goldin is herself Jewish. In the immediate fallout, curator..."

Nan Goldin's Stendhal Syndrome is a provocative twenty-six-minute slideshow that combines her photography with classical art. The Art Gallery of Ontario initially planned to acquire it but faced backlash from donors, particularly Judy Schulich, who labeled Goldin as antisemitic due to her political statements. This led to a close vote against the acquisition by a volunteer committee. Goldin's work reflects her deep connection to art and museums, making the rejection of her piece particularly contentious.

Read at The Walrus