David Goldblatt
South African Photographs: 1952-2006
3 March to 20 May 2007
Fotomuseum Winterthur
Grüzenstrasse 44 45
CH-8400 Winterthur (Zurich)
Switzerland
Phone: 41 52 234 10 60
www.fotomuseum.ch
David Goldblatt – South African Photographs 1952-2006
David Goldblatt’s photographic projects are all set in and deal with South Africa, and they are all occupied with the people, the work, the social constellations and the constructed and natural spaces of this country. They depict all this in a direct, tangible and concrete here and now, which is at the same time permeated by an awareness of the history, the structures and the balance of power from which the immediate present emerges in this country.
In the series about mines and miners (On the Mines, 1973), the closely-woven portrait of the Boers, also known as Afrikaners (Some Afrikaners Photographed, 1975), the portrait of a small town inhabited by middle class white people (In Boksburg, 1982), the vivid visualisation of the black people’s excessively long way to work (The Transported of KwaNdebele, 1989), the large-scale project on housing, shops and churches as “sculpted in stone” social structures (South Africa: The Structure of Things Then, 1998), right up to the series of close-ups, the cropped images of gestures and attitudes (Particulars, 2003), and on to the new South Africa, to the colour photographs of urban officials, new work forms, the streets of Johannesburg and the constellations in the country (combined for the first time in the book entitled Intersections, 2005): always and at all times, David Goldblatt’s interest was concentrated on South Africa. An exemplary documentary photographer, he has explored the violent, conflict-torn history of his country, constantly focusing on the political and sociological development of South African society, the social disunity and the turbulent political events during apartheid.
In his own individual way, David Goldblatt, who was born in Randfontein in 1930, searches the surface appearances for “eloquent” indications that, as a visual collection of evidence, promote an understanding of the essence and structure of South African society. The mixture of concrete work on visual eloquence through direct, respectful encounters with the structural analysis of the society, and the interweaving of images and texts to form a complex visual anthropology revitalises documentary photography and lends David Goldblatt’s work an inimitable strength. His work is focused on South Africa, while giving us occasion to reflect on the balance of power all over the world.
With this large-scale retrospective, the Fotomuseum Winterthur pays tribute to the photographic work of David Goldblatt, winner of the “Hasselblad Award 2006″, the most important international prize for photography. The exhibition was created in collaboration with the Rencontres internationales de la photographie in Arles. The curators are Martin Parr and Urs Stahel.
Supported by Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung
Publication on the exhibition: David Goldblatt, Südafrikanische Fotografien 1952-2006.
Edited by Fotomuseum Winterthur and Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel. With texts by Urs Stahel and Rory Bester, and a chronology by Alex Dodd. 256 pages, 128 Duplex- and 50 colour illustrations, format 29 x 26,7 cm, hardcover with dust jacket.
Till 14 October 2007: Towards a New Ease – Set 4 from the Collection of the Fotomuseum Winterthur
For further information please visit our website www.fotomuseum.ch
Fotomuseum Winterthur
Grüzenstrasse 44 45
CH-8400 Winterthur (Zurich)
Switzerland
Phone: 41 52 234 10 60
Fax. 41 52 233 60 97
e-mail: fotomuseum@fotomuseum.ch
Opening hours: Tue Sun 11am 6pm, Wed 11am 8pm, closed on Mondays
