From Publishers Weekly
Dating mostly from 2000 to 2002, this latest collection of photos from '80s star Goldin broadens her exploration of intimacy to take in first loves and births, along with the usual chronicling of accidents and illnesses, drug addiction and recovery, age and loss among friends and family. Throughout this nearly 12"×9" collection, the body is always primary, and often unabashedly fleshy. The ease with which Goldin captures her friends and relatives showering, relaxing on a bed, or in the midst of lovemaking is impressive, establishing both the reality of the moment while simultaneously bathing her subjects in her loving, third-party glow. Texts include pieces by Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave, along with New York downtowners John Giorno and the late Cookie Mueller. While Goldin's work is often compared to Diane Arbus's, in that both photographed the so-called "marginal" members of society, rather than using the lens as a distancing, voyeuristic tool, Goldin equalizes viewer and viewed. Through the lens of familiarity, the photo becomes less an exploitation than a connection. Homosexual, transvestite, straight, scarred, tattooed or simply uniquely shaped, everyone has relations-and Goldin does not exempt herself, as two sections in the book follow her struggle against heroin addition. While the 460 shots here are printed in gorgeous color, many of the photos are unfortunately situated across a two-page spread, with the central human figure often disappearing or elided into the gutter, at odds with the overall intention of the collection. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
This is a major collection of photographs by Nan Goldin, representing over 35 years' work. This significant body of work begins in the early 1970s with her "Dazzle Bag" portraits and her series of photographs on themes of maternity, family and landscapes. The book contains Goldin's new and recent photographs in narrative and thematic sequences such as "Landscapes", "Self-portraits", "Maternity, Heartbeat" (2001), "My French Family" (1999-2001) and "57 days" (2000), many of which are previously unpublished. It also contains some of the "drag queen" photos of the mid-1990s, the "Cookie Mueller" portfolio of 1989 and the "Ballad of Sexual Dependency" images from the 1980s. Goldin's early black-and-white photographs from the Boston years in the 1970s also form part of this substantial collection. Nan Goldin's photographs are intimate and compelling - they tell personal stories of relationships, friendships and identity, but at the same time chronicle different eras and the passage of time. Their subject matter ranges from drag queens and AIDS to the family, maternity and most recently, nature and landscapes. Laid out in chronological sequences by the artist, like a diary, the material is both candid and affirmative. In addition, a number of short essays are interspersed throughout the photographic sequences. Individually, these texts discuss different aspects or themes in Nan Goldin's work such as the narrative, love and gender politics, while also referencing particular works such as the "Ballad of Sexual Dependency" (1981-96). A conversation between the artist and Catherine Lampert, freelance curator, former director of the Whitechapel and close friend of Goldin, touches on the sources of her inspiration and her life as a prominent artist.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Devil's Playground presents a major collection of photographs by Nan Goldin. Since the 1970s Nan Goldin has consistently created photographs which are intimate and compelling - they tell personal stories of relationships, friendships and identity, but simultaneously chronicle different eras and the passage of time.

This book features a significant body of new work by Goldin, most of which is previously unpublished, including photographs from series such as Still on Earth (1997-2001), 57 Days (2000) and Elements (1995-2003). Laid out in sequences by Goldin herself, like a diary, the material is both courageously candid and affirmative. The photographs are grouped into themed chapters and between these are interspersed poems, lyrics and texts - some of which have been specially written for this book - by prominent writers such as Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, E. E. Cummings, Cookie Mueller and Richard Price. The Devil's Playground is the most important book to be published on Goldin's work to-date. It brings to light the source of Goldin's inspiration and her life as a prominent contemporary artist.

SYNOPSIS

The Devil￯﾿ﾽs Playground presents a major collection of photographs by Nan Goldin. Since the 1980s Nan Goldin has consistently created photographs which are intimate and compelling - they tell personal stories of relationships, friendships and identity, but simultaneously chronicle different eras and the passage of time. This book features a significant body of new work by Goldin, including photographs from series such as Still on Earth (1997-2001), 57 Days (2000) and Elements (1995-2003), many of which are previously unpublished. Laid out in sequences by Goldin herself, like a diary, the material is both courageously candid and affirmative. The photographs are grouped into themed chapters and between these are interspersed a number of texts, poems and lyrics by prominent writers - including Nick Cave, Catherine Lampert, Cookie Mueller and Richard Price. The Devil￯﾿ﾽs Playground is the first major book to be published on Goldin￯﾿ﾽs work since 1996 and is her most significant to-date. It brings to light the source of Goldin￯﾿ﾽs inspiration and her life as a prominent contemporary artist. Nan Goldin is internationally recognized as one of today￯﾿ﾽs leading photographers. Born in Washington DC, Goldin grew up in Boston where she began taking photographs at the age of fifteen. She has since lived in New York, Bangkok, Berlin, Tokyo and Paris, amassing an extensive body of work that represents an intimate and compelling photographic portrait of our time.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times

Geographically the Devil's Playground may be a desolate spot near Death Valley, but here it's a metaphor, and one that seemingly is less about idle minds than idle bodies. Goldin has photographed her repertory cast of international jet-set characters making love, caring for babies and visiting her in well-appointed hotel rooms, but the crux of the book is contained in two series of pictures devoted to the photographer's hospital stays -- necessitated by detox treatments for drug use in 2000 and 2002. This is all territory that Goldin has roamed before (even the detox route, sadly), but in ''Playground'' she assembles the chapters of her visual narrative with a sophistication that has not been part of her work since the original, performance-based version of the ''Ballad.'' — Andy Grundberg

Publishers Weekly