Jim Goldberg
Encyclopedia
Jim Goldberg is an American photographer and writer whose work reflects long-term, in-depth collaborations with neglected, ignored, or otherwise outside-the-mainstream populations.
Goldberg is part of the social aims movement in photography, using a straight-forward, cinéma vérité
approach, based on a fundamentally narrative understanding of photography. Goldberg's empathy and the uniqueness of the subjects emerge in his works, "forming a context within which the viewer may integrate the unthinkable into the concept of self. Thus diffused, this terrifying other is restored as a universal." (Art Forum, Summer 1987)
Goldberg's work was featured with that of Robert Adams
and Joel Sternfeld
in a 1984 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art
entitled "Three Americans"; the exhibition was described as "a show of politically charged and socially conscious images."
In 1985 Goldberg's book Rich and Poor was published. The book includes photographs of people in their homes along with handwritten comments by them about their lives. For example, the handwriting under the photograph reproduced on the front cover reads "I keep thinking where we went wrong. We have no one to talk to now, however, I will not allow this loneliness to destroy me,— I STILL HAVE MY DREAMS. I would like an elegant home, a loving husband and the wealth I am used to. Countess Vivianna de Bronville." Although the book received one mixed review shortly after publication, other reviews were positive, and it was later selected as one of the greatest photobooks of the 20th century.
The photographs in a 1988 exhibition of Goldberg's "The Nursing Home Series" were accompanied by handwritten text by the nursing home residents who were the subjects of the photographs. A review of a 1990 exhibition "Shooting Back: Photography by and About the Homeless" at the Washington Project for the Arts
characterized the exhibition as "Issue Art" and characterized Goldberg as "a superior Issue Artist because he's a superior artist."
A major mixed media exhibition by Goldberg concerning homeless children in California entitled "Raised by Wolves" began traveling in 1995 and was accompanied by a book of the same title. A review of the exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
noted that Goldberg made reference to other artists and photographers; used photographs, videos, objects, and texts to convey meaning; and "let his viewers feel, in some corner of their psyches, the lure of abject lowliness, the siren call of pain." Although the accompanying book received one mixed review shortly after publication, it was described as "a heartbreaking novel with pictures", and Martin Parr
and Gerry Badger in their book The Photobook: A History praised it as "complex and thoughtful."
A 1999 mixed media installation at the San Francisco Arts Commission
gallery entitled "57/78/97" explored race relations in the U.S., including the Little Rock Crisis
of 1957, the 1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
decision, and the year following the passage of California Proposition 209 (1996)
concerning affirmative action
.
Selected photographs from a series by Goldberg called "The New Europeans," concerning refugees, immigrants, and trafficked people, were first exhibited in San Francisco in 2007. One review stated that the photographs may leave the viewer "paralyzed by uncertainty about what might alleviate the injustices" depicted. Part of the series came to be known as "Open See", and Goldberg's book of that title was published in 2009 by Steidl.
Goldberg is a Professor of Photography and Fine Arts at the California College of the Arts
and has been a full member of the Magnum Photos
agency since 2006. He lives and works in San Francisco. His fashion, editorial and advertising work has appeared in numerous publications including W, Details, Flaunt, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rebel, GQ, The New Yorker, and Dazed and Confused. He is represented by Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York, the Stephen Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco, and Magnum Photos.
1980
1981
1982
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2004
2005
2007
2009
2010
Artistic career
Goldberg is best known for his photographic books, multi-media exhibits and video installations, among them: Rich and Poor (1985), Nursing Home, Raised by Wolves (1995), Hospice, and Open See (2009). Goldberg photographs sub-cultures, creating photo collages, and including text with his photographs, often written by his subjects.Goldberg is part of the social aims movement in photography, using a straight-forward, cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
approach, based on a fundamentally narrative understanding of photography. Goldberg's empathy and the uniqueness of the subjects emerge in his works, "forming a context within which the viewer may integrate the unthinkable into the concept of self. Thus diffused, this terrifying other is restored as a universal." (Art Forum, Summer 1987)
Goldberg's work was featured with that of Robert Adams
Robert Adams (photographer)
Robert Adams is an American photographer who has focused on the changing landscape of the American West. His work first came to prominence in the mid-1970s through the book The New West and the exhibition New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape...
and Joel Sternfeld
Joel Sternfeld
Joel Sternfeld, , is a fine-art color photographer noted for his large-format documentary pictures of the United States and helping establish color photography as a respected artistic medium. He has many works in the permanent collections of the MOMA in New York City and the Getty Center in Los...
in a 1984 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
entitled "Three Americans"; the exhibition was described as "a show of politically charged and socially conscious images."
In 1985 Goldberg's book Rich and Poor was published. The book includes photographs of people in their homes along with handwritten comments by them about their lives. For example, the handwriting under the photograph reproduced on the front cover reads "I keep thinking where we went wrong. We have no one to talk to now, however, I will not allow this loneliness to destroy me,— I STILL HAVE MY DREAMS. I would like an elegant home, a loving husband and the wealth I am used to. Countess Vivianna de Bronville." Although the book received one mixed review shortly after publication, other reviews were positive, and it was later selected as one of the greatest photobooks of the 20th century.
The photographs in a 1988 exhibition of Goldberg's "The Nursing Home Series" were accompanied by handwritten text by the nursing home residents who were the subjects of the photographs. A review of a 1990 exhibition "Shooting Back: Photography by and About the Homeless" at the Washington Project for the Arts
Washington Project for the Arts
Washington Project for the Arts, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support and aid of artists in the Washington, D.C. area.-History:...
characterized the exhibition as "Issue Art" and characterized Goldberg as "a superior Issue Artist because he's a superior artist."
A major mixed media exhibition by Goldberg concerning homeless children in California entitled "Raised by Wolves" began traveling in 1995 and was accompanied by a book of the same title. A review of the exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
noted that Goldberg made reference to other artists and photographers; used photographs, videos, objects, and texts to convey meaning; and "let his viewers feel, in some corner of their psyches, the lure of abject lowliness, the siren call of pain." Although the accompanying book received one mixed review shortly after publication, it was described as "a heartbreaking novel with pictures", and Martin Parr
Martin Parr
Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take a critical look at aspects of modern life, in particular provincial and suburban life in England...
and Gerry Badger in their book The Photobook: A History praised it as "complex and thoughtful."
A 1999 mixed media installation at the San Francisco Arts Commission
San Francisco Arts Commission
The San Francisco Arts Commission is the official San Francisco County, USA arts council.The San Francisco Arts Commission It was established in 1932 and runs under the California state arts council, the California Arts Council . The commission is appointed by the major...
gallery entitled "57/78/97" explored race relations in the U.S., including the Little Rock Crisis
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine was a group of African-American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The ensuing Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, and then...
of 1957, the 1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that ruled unconstitutional the admission process of the Medical School at the University of California at Davis, which set aside 16 of the 100 seats for African American...
decision, and the year following the passage of California Proposition 209 (1996)
California Proposition 209 (1996)
Proposition 209 is a California ballot proposition which, upon approval in November 1996, amended the state constitution to prohibit public institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity. It had been supported and funded by the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign, led by University...
concerning affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
.
Selected photographs from a series by Goldberg called "The New Europeans," concerning refugees, immigrants, and trafficked people, were first exhibited in San Francisco in 2007. One review stated that the photographs may leave the viewer "paralyzed by uncertainty about what might alleviate the injustices" depicted. Part of the series came to be known as "Open See", and Goldberg's book of that title was published in 2009 by Steidl.
Goldberg is a Professor of Photography and Fine Arts at the California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...
and has been a full member of the Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
agency since 2006. He lives and works in San Francisco. His fashion, editorial and advertising work has appeared in numerous publications including W, Details, Flaunt, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rebel, GQ, The New Yorker, and Dazed and Confused. He is represented by Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York, the Stephen Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco, and Magnum Photos.
Early years
Jim Goldberg was raised in New Haven, Connecticut in a family of candy sellers. He took an aptitude test in high school that said he should do something in a field where he helped others. He went to college as a Theology major and ended up in photography when a schizophrenic Photo 1 teacher told him he had talent.Education
- 1971 Theology Major, Hofstra University, Long Island, New York, USA
- 1975 Bachelor of Arts (Interdisciplinary Major in Photography and Education), Western Washington University, Washington, USA
- 1979 Master of Fine Arts (Photography), San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, USA
Awards and grants
- 1980 NEA Fellowship in Photography
- 1983 Ruttenberg Fellowship
- 1985 Cambridge Art Council Commission
- 1985 Engelhard Award
- 1985 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1989 Mother Jones Photography Award
- 1989 California Tamarack Foundation
- 1989 T.B. Walker Foundation
- 1989 Art Matters grant
- 1990 National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
(NEA) Fellowship in Photography - 1990 California Arts Council Fellowship
- 1992 Glen Eagles Foundation Grant
- 1992 Art Matters grant
- 1994 Highland Award
- 1994 Roberts Foundation Grant
- 1995 Ernst HaasErnst HaasErnst Haas was an Austrian artist and influential photographer noted for his innovations in color photography, experiments in abstract light and form, and as a member of the Magnum Photos agency....
Award (Photography Book of the Year for Raised by Wolves) - 1996 Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhaker Foundation
- 1996 Gerbode Foundation Grant
- 2001 The Art Council Award
- 2003 Alpert Ucross Residency Prize
- 2006 Documentary Photography Project Distribution Grant, Open Society Institute
- 2007 HCB Award, Fondation Henri Cartier-BressonHenri Cartier-BressonHenri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...
- 2011 Deutsche Börse prize.
Selected exhibitions
1979- Nova Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1980
- Equivalents Gallery, Seattle, USA
1981
- O.K. Harris Gallery, New York, USA
- Bakersfield College, Bakersfield, USA
1982
- Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, USA
1984
- Houston Center for Photography, Houston, USA
- Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
- Friends of Photography Gallery, Carmel, USA
- Lightsong Gallery, Tucson, USA
1985
- Northlight Gallery, Tempe, USA
- Ithaca College, Ithaca, USA
- De Saisset Museum, Santa Clara, USA
- G. H. Dalsheimer Gallery, Baltimore, USA
1986
- The Tartt Gallery, Washington, D.C., USA
1987
- Akron Art Museum, Akron, USA
- Western Washington University, Bellingham, USA
- Clarence Kennedy Gallery, Cambridge, USA
- University Art Museum, Berkeley, USA
1988
- Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, D.C., USA
- Invisible People - Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, USA
1989
- Capp Street Project, San Francisco, USA
- University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, USA
1990
- Shooting Back: Photography by and About the Homeless - Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, D.C., USA
- Art at the Anchorage - Creative Time, New York, USA
1991
- Art in General, New York, USA
1995
- Raised by Wolves - Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA; Museum of Design, ZürichMuseum of Design ZürichThe Museum of Design, Zurich is a museum for industrial design, visual communication, architecture, and craft in Zurich, Switzerland.- Overview :...
, Switzerland
1996
- Jim Goldberg: Raised by Wolves - Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; PaceWildensteinPaceWildensteinThe Pace Gallery is a contemporary and modern art gallery founded by Arne Glimcher in Boston 1960 as The Pace Gallery. The gallery moved to Manhattan in 1963 and from 1993 to 2010 operated jointly with Wildenstein & Co. as PaceWildenstein. There are three locations in Manhattan and one in...
/MacGill, New York, USA; Addison Gallery of American ArtAddison Gallery of American ArtThe Addison Gallery of American Art, as a department of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, is an academic museum dedicated to collecting American art...
, Andover, USA
1997
- Raised by Wolves - San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco Museum of Modern ArtThe San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
, San Francisco, USA; Los Angeles County Museum of ArtLos Angeles County Museum of ArtThe Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, Los Angeles, USA; Pace/Wildenstein/MacGill, Los Angeles, USA
1998
- Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, USA
1999
- Rich and Poor - Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto, Canada
- 57/78/97 - San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2004
- Two Stories - Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, USA
2005
- In the Open See - Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2007
- The New Europeans - Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2009
- Raised By Wolves - Les Rencontres, Arles, France
- Open See - The Photographer's Gallery, London, UK
- Open See - Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, France
2010
- Jim Goldberg - Parco 2, Pordenone Contemporary Art Exhibition Site Via Bertossi - Pordenone F.V.G. ITALY - 6 November 2010-30 January 2011
Collections
- Addison Gallery of American ArtAddison Gallery of American ArtThe Addison Gallery of American Art, as a department of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, is an academic museum dedicated to collecting American art...
, Andover, USA - Akron Art MuseumAkron Art MuseumThe Akron Art Museum is an art museum in Akron, Ohio, USA.The museum first opened its doors on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library...
, Akron, USA - Baltimore Museum of ArtBaltimore Museum of ArtThe Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works...
, Baltimore, USA - Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film ArchiveBerkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film ArchiveThe Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is associated with the University of California at Berkeley. The director is Lawrence Rinder who was appointed in 2008.-Collection:...
, Berkeley, USA - Clarence Kennedy Gallery, Polaroid Collection, Cambridge, USA
- Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA
- Dayton Art InstituteDayton Art InstituteThe Dayton Art Institute is a museum of fine arts in Dayton, Ohio, USA. The Dayton Art Institute was rated one of the top 10 best art museums in the United States for kids. The museum also ranks in the top 3% of all art museums in North America in 3 of 4 factors...
, Dayton, USA - J. Paul Getty MuseumJ. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
, Los Angeles, USA - Hallmark Photographic Collection, Nelson-Atkins Museum of ArtNelson-Atkins Museum of ArtThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....
, Kansas City, USA - High Museum of ArtHigh Museum of ArtThe High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...
, Atlanta, USA - Kresge Art Museum, Michigan State UniversityMichigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, East Lansing, USA - Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, Washington, D.C., USA - Light Work, Syracuse, USA
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
- La Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi, Belgium
- Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, USA - Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
- Museum of Design, Zürich, Switzerland
- Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York, USA - Princeton University Art MuseumPrinceton University Art MuseumThe Princeton University Art Museum is Princeton University's gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1882, it now houses over 72,000 works of art that range from antiquity to the contemporary period...
, Princeton, USA - Rose Art MuseumRose Art MuseumThe Rose Art Museum, founded in 1961, is a part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. Named after benefactors Edward and Bertha Rose, it offers temporary exhibitions, and it displays and houses works of art from the Brandeis University art collections...
, Waltham, USA - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA
- Seattle Art MuseumSeattle Art MuseumThe Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...
, Seattle, USA - Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art MuseumThe Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
, Washington, D.C., USA - Spencer Museum of ArtSpencer Museum of ArtThe Spencer Museum of Art, or SMA, is an art museum on the campus of University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. While admission is free, donations are accepted. Also located inside the Spencer Museum of Art are the Kress Foundation Department of Art History, and the Murphy Library of Art &...
, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA - Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney Museum of American ArtThe Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, New York, USA
Books
- Goldberg, Jim. Rich and poor: photographs. New York: Random House, 1985. ISBN 0394741560.
- Goldberg, Jim. Raised by wolves. Zurich and New York: Scalo, 1995. ISBN 1881616509.
- Goldberg, Jim, Nan GoldinNan GoldinNancy "Nan" Goldin is an American photographer.-Life and work:Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Boston, Massachusetts suburb of Lexington, to middle class Jewish parents whose ideas, moderately liberal and progressive, were put to the test when on April 12, 1965 their eldest...
, Sally MannSally MannSally Mann is an American photographer, best known for her large black-and-white photographs—at first of her young children, then later of landscapes suggesting decay and death.-Early life and education:...
, Jack Radcliffe, and Kathy VargasKathy VargasKathy Vargas is an American photographer.Kathy Vargas became interested in the hand-coloured photography around 1970...
. Hospice: a photographic inquiry. Boston: Little, Brown, in association with the Corcoran Gallery of Art and National Hospice Foundation, 1996. ISBN 0821222597. - Goldberg, Jim. It ended sad but I love where it began. Oakland, California: These Birds Walk, 2007 (Kin series, book 4).
- Goldberg, Jim, and Wolf Böwig. War is only half the story: the Aftermath Project. Volume 1. New York: Aperture, 2008. ISBN 9781597110426.
- Goldberg, Jim. Open see. Göttingen, Germany: Steidl, 2009. ISBN 9783865218261.