Nearly one million Americans have died since 1999 from overdoses of opioid painkillers, most of which had been prescribed to them. Nan Goldin was also given the painkiller Oxycodone after surgery in 2014 and became addicted. Since her withdrawal, she has been committed to fighting the makers of the drug, the Sackler family. When Richard Sackler learned of the increasing abuse in the population, he asked his employees how much profit they could possibly make on it. The documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022), which won the Golden Lion in Venice and was nominated for an Oscar, accompanies the artist in her protests and also works through her life to date. This is well documented, as the artist has relentlessly photographed her life and that of her friends. Drug abuse, nightlife and domestic violence characterize her work, which quickly conquered museums in the 1980s with its snapshot aesthetic and made Goldin one of the best-known contemporary artists.
Her students include the photographic artist Sissi Farassat, and Wolfgang Tillmans was also inspired by her for his early work. In 2007, Goldin won the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography, worth 2 million Swedish kronor (about 200,000 euros), which is considered the world's most prestigious award for photographers. On September 12, the New York-based artist will turn 70.
