Considering most victims of domestic abuse never come forward, this picture by Nan Goldin is pretty brave.

Goldin was obviously trapped in an unhealthy relationship- stuck in a codependent situation with a man that devolved over time, until one night he attacked her so brutally she almost went blind....as you can see from the scary blood-red eye. An injury that still looked like that one month after the attack by the way. Jesus.

The artist miraculously doesn’t seem to hold ill will towards her abuser when she talks about the piece. Proving her moral and intellectual superiority, she simply says that she was aiming to represent what can happen when people believe in romantic passion over mutual respect.  Yes, it is very important to respect the sanctity of someone’s face and to not passionately beat them senseless.  This is being a good human 101.    

She never names the man who did it, but I for one wouldn’t mind seeing this guy strung up by his heels in Times Square alongside Chris Brown.