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Elton John Confirms Ownership of Nude Girls Gallery Photo Seized by Police
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
LONDON - 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.
John confirmed ownership of "Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing" in a statement on
his Web site. He said it is among 149 images comprising Goldin's
"Thanksgiving" installation.
Northumbria police said the photo was taken from the BALTIC Center for
Contemporary Art in Gateshead, northeastern England. They confirmed Tuesday
that an image had been taken from an exhibit "to assess whether or not an
offense had been committed."
Both Goldin and the gallery have declined to comment. The gallery alerted
police to Goldin's photo on the eve of an exhibition featuring her work that
opened Friday.
"The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been
widely published and exhibited throughout the world," the 60-year-old rocker
said.
"It can be found in the monograph of Ms. Goldin's works entitled `The
Devil's Playground' (Phaidon, 2003), 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 purchased the "Thanksgiving" installation in 1999, his statement said.
Goldin's frank and often sexually explicit work has drawn critical acclaim,
as well as police attention.
In 2001, London police demanded that the Saatchi Gallery remove one of
Goldin's photographs, saying it was indecent. The gallery refused, and
officials later backed down, saying there was no realistic prospect of
securing a conviction in the case.
Elton John Confirms Ownership of Nude Girls Gallery Photo Seized by Police
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
LONDON - 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.
John confirmed ownership of "Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing" in a statement on
his Web site. He said it is among 149 images comprising Goldin's
"Thanksgiving" installation.
Northumbria police said the photo was taken from the BALTIC Center for
Contemporary Art in Gateshead, northeastern England. They confirmed Tuesday
that an image had been taken from an exhibit "to assess whether or not an
offense had been committed."
Both Goldin and the gallery have declined to comment. The gallery alerted
police to Goldin's photo on the eve of an exhibition featuring her work that
opened Friday.
"The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been
widely published and exhibited throughout the world," the 60-year-old rocker
said.
"It can be found in the monograph of Ms. Goldin's works entitled `The
Devil's Playground' (Phaidon, 2003), 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 purchased the "Thanksgiving" installation in 1999, his statement said.
Goldin's frank and often sexually explicit work has drawn critical acclaim,
as well as police attention.
In 2001, London police demanded that the Saatchi Gallery remove one of
Goldin's photographs, saying it was indecent. The gallery refused, and
officials later backed down, saying there was no realistic prospect of
securing a conviction in the case.
