Dina Goldstein facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dina Goldstein
דינה גולדשטין |
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Dina Goldstein at the Prix Virginia in Paris, France.
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| Born | December 28, 1969 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Known for | Photographer |
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Notable work
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Fallen Princesses, In The Dollhouse, Gods Of Suburbia |
| Awards | 2016 Sony Awards Short list2016 Arte Laguna Photographic Selection2014 Grand winner Prix Virginia |
Dina Goldstein (Hebrew: דינה גולדשטין; born 1969) is a talented visual artist and photographer from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She creates unique photo scenes, called "tableaus," that combine everyday things with unusual settings. Her goal is to make people think about life and the world around them.
Dina started her career over 30 years ago as a photojournalist, taking pictures for news and magazines. Later, she became an independent artist, focusing on large-scale projects that tell stories through photos. Her work often explores big ideas about society and culture. She uses well-known characters and symbols to create new stories that make us question what we believe.
Dina is most famous for her series "Fallen Princesses," which she created in 2007. In this series, she shows popular fairy tale princesses in realistic, modern situations. It makes you wonder what their lives would be like in the real world, dealing with everyday challenges like poverty or illness. Dina Goldstein has won several awards for her photography, including the grand prize at Prix Virginia in 2014.
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Early life and education
Dina Goldstein was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. In 1976, when she was seven years old, her family moved to Canada. She studied art history and photography at Langara College in Vancouver, B.C., finishing her studies in 1993.
Photography career
Dina Goldstein began her photography career by working as a photojournalist and documentary photographer from 1993 to 2000. After that, she took pictures for magazines and advertising companies until 2009. Her first public art show was called Images of Gaza in 2001. It featured black and white photos of people living in the West Bank and Gaza.
Fallen Princesses (2009)
Dina Goldstein's first big photo series, "Fallen Princesses," was shown to the public in 2009. This series has been displayed in many art galleries, including the BYU Museum of Art and the Musée De La Femme in Quebec, Canada.
The series includes 10 photographs that show famous fairy tale princesses and other characters in modern settings. By using the bright colors and styles from Disney movies, the artwork makes us think about the idea of "Happily Ever After." It questions whether these perfect endings are realistic for children around the world.
Gods of Suburbia (2014)
Gods of Suburbia is Dina Goldstein’s third major project. This series looks at how religious beliefs fit into our modern world, with all its technology, science, and everyday life. The photos use stories and religious symbols to show how organized beliefs can sometimes change within a world focused on buying things and wanting more.
Dina creates a world in her photos that looks like our own. This helps people talk about important ideas. She shows gods and spiritual figures as people, making us think about their stories and how they might relate to modern life.
Modern Girl (2016)
The "Modern Girl" series from 2016 was inspired by Chinese advertising posters from the 1930s. This work explores ideas about who we are, how boys and girls are expected to act, different cultures, and how buying things affects us. By reimagining old Chinese ads, "Modern Girl" looks at how traditional roles for women and the desire to buy things have influenced how women are shown in marketing.
Dina Goldstein explains that the 1930s Chinese posters are important because they show the struggle between old traditions and new ideas. She says that during this time, Asian women started to become more independent. However, new roles and expectations also led to women being used in advertising campaigns.
Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden (2017)
"Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden" (2017) was created for an art show at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. It was based on 100 Jewish folk tales. Dina Goldstein took 11 large black and white photos that show modern versions of scenes from these tales.
The series features many different characters, including kings, queens, spirits, and religious figures. Dina uses dream-like scenes and symbols to explore traditional Jewish ideas like destiny, wisdom, and faith. This series has traveled and been shown in museums around the world, including the Museo Ebraico in Venice in 2018.
The 10 Commandments (2019)
"The 10 Commandments" (2019) series was inspired by the 2016 US presidential election. It aims to show how politics can sometimes involve dishonesty and unfairness. The series looks at American society through its political leaders, especially those who have been important or controversial.
Each photo shows a President in a way that reflects their policies or fame, set against a modern background. Each photo is also linked to one of the Ten Commandments. These often funny comparisons help to break down political dishonesty and question how fair a system is supposed to be a model for democracy. This series is Dina's most political work, but it continues her theme of exploring disappointment in the world.
OG PUNK (2021)
In her "OG PUNK" series, Dina Goldstein photographed important people from the punk rock music scene of the late 1970s and 1980s in Vancouver and Victoria. These portraits were taken in a studio, giving them a staged and artistic feel. The people in the photos pose for the camera, showing off their punk rock clothes, spiky hair, and tattoos. Some look confident and playful, while others seem more thoughtful or sad.
These original punks appear as unique individuals rather than just members of a subculture. It's hard to tell what's a costume and what's their everyday style, which makes us think about how we present ourselves to the world. Each photo shows the balance between how people act in public and how they express themselves personally. The exhibition gives clues about the punk movement, which was a youth culture that rebelled against mainstream society. Political concerns were a big part of punk, and its music often had strong political messages. For Dina Goldstein's subjects, punk is not just a past movement but a lasting attitude. As one person, Lisa Jak, says: "as long as there is ignorance, oppression, and intolerance will be here to fight back."
Awards
- 2024 Overall winner Julia Margaret Cameron Awards
- 2023 American Photography 39
- 2022 PX3 finalist
- 2021 IPA Honorable Mention
- 2021 Paris Photo, Finalist
- 2020 Aesthetica Art Prize, Finalist
- 2020 Arte Laguna, Photographic section, Finalist
- 2019 Lucie Awards, Deeper Perspective, Honourable Mention
- 2019 Honourable Mention Julia Margaret Cameron Awards
- 2018 Arte Laguna, Belgium Residency Selection
- 2017 Black & White Spider Awards
- 2016 Sony Awards Short list
- 2016 Arte Laguna, Photographic Selection
- 2014 Prix Virginia, Paris, France Grand Prize
- 2013 International Color Awards, Fine Art Finalist
- 2012 The Big F Award, Framed Awards
- 2012 Selected for Art Basel
- 2011 Arte Laguna Special Prize Winner
- 2009 Popular Photography, reader's competition
- 2009 International Color Awards, Fine Art Finalist
- 2008 1st Place ‘Magazine Cover Art’, Applied Arts Magazine
- 2006 Nominee, ‘David Screams’, Black and White Spider Awards
- 2006 1st Place, ‘Ice Cream’, International Colour Awards
- 2004 1st Place, ‘Hands’, Applied Arts Magazine
- 2004 1st Place, ‘Trackrecord Exhibit Poster’ Applied Arts Magazine
- 2003 3rd Place, ‘Trackrecord Exhibit Poster’, Nikon PDN awards
- 2003 Top 10 Ice Cream Photo Life Magazine
- 2002 Nominee, ‘Manifesto of Fun’, Western Magazine Awards
- 2001 Nominee, ‘Home Wrecked’, Western Magazine Awards
- 1999 Nominee, ‘Dig It’, Western Magazine Awards
Personal life
Dina Goldstein lives in East Vancouver with her husband, Jonas Quastel, who is a filmmaker. They have two daughters named Jordan and Zoe.
Images for kids
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Dina Goldstein at the Prix Virginia in Paris, France.
