Dina Goldstein

Dina Goldstein
Born (1969-12-28) December 28, 1969
Tel Aviv, Israel
Nationality Canadian
Known for Photography
Notable work Fallen Princesses, In The Dollhouse, Gods Of Suburbia
Awards Grand winner Prix Virginia 2014
Website www.dinagoldstein.com

Dina Goldstein (born 1969 in Tel Aviv, Israel)[1] is a visual artist based in Vancouver, Canada. She is a photographer and pop surrealist with a background in documentary photography. Goldstein creates tableau with a nuanced visual language that places the mundane and everyday in unusual settings to inspire insight into the human condition.[2] She is most known for her series "Fallen Princesses", created in 2007, which depicts humanized Disney Princesses placed in realistic, modern scenarios.[3] The series envisions how the lives of these famous characters would have played out in the real world, and touches on such everyday scourges as poverty, obesity, cancer and pollution.[4] Goldstein was awarded the Arte Laguna special prize in 2012.[5] In 2014, Goldstein won the grand prize at Prix Virginia; her work was exhibited in Paris, France.[6]

Early life and education

Goldstein was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and in 1976 emigrated to Canada. Goldstein studied art history and photography at Langara college in Vancouver, B.C., and completed her studies in 1993.[7]

Photography

Goldstein's career in photography started with photojournalism and documentary work (1993–2000), she went on to photograph editorial and commissioned work for magazines and advertising agencies (2000–2009). Her first public exhibition was Images of Gaza (2001), a series of black and white portraits of people living in the West Bank and Gaza.[8]

'Fallen Princesses' (2009)

Goldstein's first large scale tableau series Fallen Princesses debuted publicly in 2009. The series was exhibited in numerous galleries, at group show at BYU Museum of Art, and in the Musée De La Femme in Quebec, Canada in 2013.[9]

The series consists of 10 photographs depicting Disney Princesses and other Fairy Tale characters placed within a modern environment.[10] The work examines elements of the human condition and creates metaphor out of the myths of fairy tales, forcing the viewer to contemplate real life: failed dreams, the fallacy of chasing eternal youth, obesity, Cancer, the extinction of indigenous cultures, pollution, ocean degradation and war.[11] By embracing the textures and colors created by Walt Disney, which built a multi-billion dollar empire exploiting these fairy tales, the work questions the notion of the idealistic ' Happily Ever After' motif, composed by Disney, and spoon fed to children throughout the world.[12]

'In the Dollhouse' (2012)

In a series of large-format photographic tableaus, Goldstein creates a storyline for the Barbie and Ken dolls, using real-life models.[13] Trapped in a loveless marriage, Ken struggles with his sexuality.Using sequential story-telling, Goldstein creates a bright, plastic, pop-surrealist narrative. "The series unfolds a tragicomic tale of the perils of being plastic and the potential for salvation through authenticity. Barbie gets the short end of that stick – in Goldstein’s telling of her story, she endures psychological dysfunction, an emotional breakdown, a really bad haircut and, ultimately, decapitation. Ken finds his authenticity and finally realizes true happiness".[14]


'Gods of Suburbia' (2014)

"Gods of Suburbia is Goldstein’s third large-scale project. The work is a visual analysis of religious faith within the context of the modern forces of technology, science and secularism. The series plays with narrative and religious iconography in order to communicate how organized belief has become twisted within a global framework driven by consumerism and greed" [15]


Goldstein "captures the essence of satire through discussion and criticism about religion, its place and perseverance in our technology-manic society. She knocks off Western and Eastern Gods, deities and icons from their altars and re-imagines them as ordinary people struggling with unemployment, homelessness, identity crisis and alienation. We see Lakshmi attempting to "lean in" with the cumbersome demands of domestic responsibilities and public life. For his last supper, Jesus feasts with hipsters in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside observing the conflict between homelessness and gentrification; and a riff-raff Wiccan couple, models for many pop-up fringe spiritual communities, are construed as being so awkward and estranged, they are, according to Goldstein, "living on the outside of the mainstream, along the periphery of Suburbia." By re-imagining Gods and deities as fallible creatures unworthy of worship, Gods of Suburbia dares to ask: is religion a commodity akin to a sparkly iPhone that can upgraded, traded in, or disposed for the latest model? How can the practice of religion, so private and personal, be so public? How has religion been able to thrive in our science-driven, secular society?

By constructing a cosmetic reality, one that mirrors our own, Goldstein doesn't evade discussion, but rather creates it. In doing so, Gods and deities, believed to be too sacred for criticism, are personified and whose religious practices contradict their dogma".[16]

Awards

Exhibition history

Solo and group exhibitions

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2005

2004

2003

2001

Personal life

"Dina lives in East Vancouver with her filmmaker husband, Jonas Quastel, her two young daughters, Jordan and Zoe, and their dog Taco." [35]

References

  1. ↑ https://sites.google.com/site/fotoartfestivalen/fotoartfestival-2011/wystawy/dina-goldstein
  2. ↑ http://artmur.com/en/artists/dina-goldstein/
  3. ↑ http://www.cargoh.com/blog/interview-photograher-dina-goldstein
  4. ↑ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/09/fallen-princesses-the-amazing-photos-of-depressed-disney-royalty.html
  5. ↑ http://www.artelagunaprize.com/pdf/materiali/bio_Goldstein_Rotondi.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.loeildelaphotographie.com/2014/10/20/awards/26403/dina-goldstein-wins-the-prix-virginia
  7. ↑ http://www.fallenprincesses.com/docs/cv2_2013.pdf
  8. ↑ http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/02/20-years-dina-goldstein/
  9. ↑ http://www.ledevoir.com/culture/actualites-culturelles/372685/princesses-preparez-un-plan-b
  10. ↑ "Juxtapoz Magazine - Closing: Dina Goldstein "Fallen Princesses" @ CHG Circa Gallery". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  11. ↑ "Snow White's failed marriage, an alcoholic Cinderella and an obese Red Riding Hood: Cynical photo series shows Disney princesses living unhappily ever after". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  12. ↑ "LOOK: They Didn't Live Happily Ever After". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  13. ↑ "Dina Goldstein, Photographer, Shares 'In The Dollhouse,' Barbie Discovering Ken's Gay Affair". Huff Post Gay Voices. May 16, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Barbie And Ken Marriage: 'In The Dollhouse' Photographer, Dina Goldstein, Captures Dark Side (Photos)". Huffington Post. June 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ Goldstein, Dina (2014-11-08). "‘Gods of Suburbia’: Dina Goldstein’s Arresting Photo Series on Religion vs. Consumerism". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  16. ↑ "Satire and Gods of Suburbia". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  17. 1 2 "Dina Goldstein à Nouvelle (Miguasha) – Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie". www.photogaspesie.ca. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  18. ↑ "Fallen Princesses (Mouans Sartoux), Dina Goldstein". www.opiomgallery.com. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  19. ↑ "AUCTION CATALOGUE" (PDF). webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  20. ↑ "| FOTOGRÁFICA BOGOTÁ 2015 |". www.fotomuseo.org. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  21. ↑ "Dina Goldstein wins the Prix Virginia". L'Oeil de la Photographie. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "Dina Goldstein Arts Umbrella Splash 2015". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  23. ↑ Prize, Arte Laguna. "INDIAN SUGGESTIONS | SAKSHI GALLERY". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  24. ↑ "DINA GOLDSTEIN". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  25. ↑ "XX". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  26. ↑ "In the Dollhouse". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  27. ↑ "In the Dollhouse | Art Mur". artmur.com. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  28. ↑ "Désenclaver PAPIER 13 - La Presse+". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  29. ↑ "MUSÉE DE LA FEMME". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  30. ↑ "BYU Museum of Art-2013" (PDF). 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Chameleon Art Projects".
  32. ↑ Prize, Arte Laguna. "FINALIST ARTISTS ANNOUNCED". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  33. ↑ "Please Lie to Me | Art Mur". artmur.com. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  34. ↑ "Fallen Princesses at the Buschlen Mowatt Gallery". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  35. ↑ "Dina - Dina Goldstein". Retrieved 2015-09-28.

External links

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