nan goldin

Elton John has become an unwitting participant in a British child-pornorgraphy investigation.

An art photograph owned by the Rocket Man that features two naked young girl was seized Thursday from a British art gallery.

Police in Northumbria, in northeastern England, were called to the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead after fielding a complaint from the gallery's management.

"We attended the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead last Thursday at the invitation of the management, who were seeking advice about an item for an exhibition prior to it going on public display," a police spokesperson told the Times of London. "This item is being assessed, and Northumbria Police, in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding it."

In a statement on his official Website, the 60-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer confirmed that he had purchased the picture in 1999 from the White Cube gallery in London. Titled Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing, the image is one of 149 images comprising the Thanksgiving installation of acclaimed American photographer Nan Goldin.

"The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world," the singer said in defense of the artist.

"It can be found in the monograph of Ms. Goldin's works entitled The Devil's Playground and has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in 2002 and 2004 and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid, New York, Portugal, Warsaw and Zurich without any objections of which we are aware."

John is an avid collector of photographic art and also owns works by Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Man Ray and Ansel Adams. He has long been a fan of Goldin, 54, and loaned out the installation for the current exhibition.

However the Baltic's curators' uneasiness about the image's explicit nature prompted them not to take any chances.

Officers called to the gallery confiscated the image to determine whether it violates Britain's 1978 Protection of Children Act.

Neither Goldin nor the gallery has commented on the seizure.

This isn't the first time a Goldin exhibit has stirred controversy. In 2000, French authorities probed an exhibition in Bordeaux titled Presumed Innocent that explored the "ambiguities of childhood" and featured works alluding to child sexuality by Goldin and such other notable photographers as Cindy Sherman, Marlene Dumas and Christian Boltanski.

In March 2001, London police investigated indecency complaints about another of Goldin's pictures exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery, but no charges were ever filed.

Meanwhile, John continues to tour in support of his latest studio album, 2006's The Captain & the Kid.

The music legend kicks off the latest leg of a U.S. jaunt Friday night in Missoula, Montana; the tour includes a 13-night stand at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in October. After that, John jets off to Japan for two dates in Tokyo, before performing shows in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
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People

Pix is Elton's

Elton John said Wednesday that he owns a photo of two naked girls taken by award-winning photographer Nan Goldin that was seized by police at a British gallery over concerns it amounted to child pornography. He said "Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing" is among 149 images comprising Goldin's "Thanksgiving" installation. Northumbria police confirmed Tuesday that an image had been taken from an exhibit "to assess whether or not an offense had been committed."

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Actress Jayne Meadows, 87. Actor Wilford Brimley, 73. Rock singer Meat Loaf, 56. Actor Patrick Muldoon, 39. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, 35. Rapper Lil' Wayne, 25. Singer Avril Sir Elton John has confirmed that he is the owner of a photograph seized by police from an art gallery over concerns that it was child pornography.

A statement posted yesterday on the singer's website said that the picture was by a respected photographer and had been published and exhibited widely.

Klara and Edda belly-dancing, by Nan Goldin, shows two young girls playing together in front of a kitchen sink. One is skimpily dressed, the other is naked and lies beneath her, knees bent and legs splayed towards the camera. The image was seized by police from the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead last Thursday.

Police and the gallery's owners refused to confirm the identity of the artist or the work involved but Sir Elton, whose vast photograph collection includes works by artists such as Diane Arbus and Ansel Adams, decided to come forward and defend Goldin's reputation. He said on his website: "The photograph entitled Klara and Edda belly-dancing (1998) is one of 149 images comprising the Thanksgivinginstallation by renowned US photographer Nan Goldin.

Related Links
Police seize photograph from Baltic gallery
"The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world. It can be found in the monograph of Ms Goldin's works entitled The Devil's Playground, has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid, New York, Portugal, Warsaw and Zurich without any objections of which we are aware."

Thanksgiving was first shown at the White Cube Gallery in Central London in 1999, after which Sir Elton bought it. Honey Luard, of the White Cube, said: "The image would have been part of our show. To my memory there was no outcry at the time. Nobody objected to the picture. Nan Goldin is internationally acclaimed, a highly respected artist." Goldin, 54, made her name recording the intimate details of her life among drug addicts, drag queens and alcoholics in New York. Her work was recently part of a French police investigation into child sex. Other photographs in Thanksgivingshow her friends masturbating and taking drugs.

Rachel Campbell-Johnston, the Times chief art critic, said that Goldin's work pushed the boundaries but was redeemed by the documentary style employed: "She always says that the difference between her work and pornography is that she is capturing what's in front of her. Reality can be raw and uncomfortable. Children do do things like this as anyone with a couple of little girls has seen. It's in the eye of the viewer whether it's pornographic."

Despite the artist's credentials, mothers in Newcastle upon Tyne were pleased yesterday that police had removed the image.

Hannah Wilson, 28, who has two children, said: "You feel wrong and uncomfortable looking at it, as though you've trespassed somewhere you shouldn't be."

Anne McDonald, 42, a mother of three girls, said: "I don't find it offensive. It's a perfectly natural picture of two little girls playing together. Inside the household, or even in a family album, it would cause no offence. But it has no place in an art gallery."



Have your say

Any paedophile can call themselves an "artist" or an "art collector". That does not grant them license to be licentious or above the law, or undeserving of the label "pervert".

Perhaps an arrest for pornography is in order for the justice system to ensure that justice prevails. This would ensure that the rich and famous receive justice equal to that accorded the common man.

Bob Evans, Anaheim, California

This photograph is quite explicit and one exhibition promoted the discussion on whether the artist(s) were encouraging the viewers to 'surrender to our inner pedophile' (sic.USA spelling)
Even if the photographer did not intend such a response, a pose showing a child's vulva and vagina will attract voyeurs. Downloaded from the internet it could attract prosecution.

When does 'art' cross the line?

Linda Boyle, Horsham, UK

Agreed; had the girls' parents taken the photo and shown it themselves on the web, they, not being "artists", would be in prison and had their children taken away.
Whether this picture meets the standards of porn isn't as important as what kind of parent would consent to have such a photo taken, let alone put out in public.
There is such a thing as "informed consent". Children depend on their parents to make wise choices for them. They aren't capable of considering having such a compromising photo available to anyone on earth who wants to have a look at their genitalia.
Some have cited Renaissance paintings and Donatello's "David". Wrong analogy. The models for those works have been dead for centuries. The subjects of Goldin's photos are presumably alive, and still childres, judging by the age of the pictures. How will they feel growing up, knowing their classmates, friends, and co-workers will have access to these photos for the rest of their lives?

jnik, Richmond, VA / USA