Jim Goldberg

                  Jim Goldberg is an American photographer who was born in 1953. He is best known for photographing subjects that are often neglected and ignored by society. Goldberg has shown in many museums and galleries including: The Photographer's Gallery, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Photographic Arts, Washington Project for the Arts, Nova Gallery, Lightsong Gallery and many more. He has also been the recipient of over 20 grants and awards. He is best known for his books and multimedia exhibits both which typically include text from his subjects which bring a voice to these often silenced subjects.


                Out of all the photographers that we were given I chose Jim Goldberg because I feel like he his work gives me insight into a subject matter that I may not otherwise know anything about, unless I saw his photographs. I feel like his work really epitomizes the idea of documentary photography because he records the lives of these people which tell us a story just by looking at their everyday lives. Goldberg has a way of photographing these people without othering them because when you look at his work his subjects seem very comfortable. It seems as if Goldberg is not even there and this makes me feel like I am getting an inside look on the lives of these people. I admire this about his work because it is something that I feel like I am not yet able to accomplish with my work.

               In Jim Goldberg’s work, “Rich and Poor” he photographs his subjects in their environments. By showing both drastic ends of the social ladder his images create a juxtaposition that make their social situations seem even more apparent. If you were to show one of Goldberg’s images of a poor subject and only that single image it would not be very powerful. Now if you were to place that same image right next to one of Goldberg’s that showed a rich subject than the image of a poor subject would be highlighted and their situation would seem so much more obvious. This also works the other way around and the rich subjects situation seem more apparent. I am not sure if his project started out just showing one social class or the other but if it did then he made the right choice by showing both. I am not saying I would not be interested at all in his work if he just showed just the rich or just the poor but I find the contrast of the two social classes one of the most interesting things that is driving his work.

              Jim Goldberg’s “Rich and Poor” is a body of work that shows images of people in their homes paired with comments from them. Many of his images are of people that are typically neglected and ignored by society but those are also mixed with images of wealth and beauty. I love Jim Goldberg’s work because his work shows something that typically isn’t photographed. I feel like my work can relate to Jim Goldberg’s because we are both doing a similar thing. Although our subject matter may be different we are both still shedding light on things that normally do not get much exposure. My current work looks at probably the most photographed event in our culture. Typical wedding photographs consist of cake cutting and first dances but I choose to show the side that most people never really look at. I showcase the aftermath of weddings when the guests start to leave and all that remains is empty chairs, half eaten plates of food, and an overall messy and not so perfect scene. Weddings are supposed to be a perfect scene with every little detail thought out and every little thing in its perfect place but how long can this last? These images are used to talk about a subject that our society tends to try and silence which is divorce. The photos show that after the wedding everything starts to fall apart and we have to pay for someone to clean it all up for us and when things start to shut down everyone seems to leave. So I use my images of the wedding to speak about how divorce is something that is very common in our society and after the wedding is when the real work begins, the wedding is just a show.

              So even though Jim Goldberg is showing environmental portraits of the rich and poor we are doing something similar. We both have an interest in showing some of life’s unpleasant topics for everyone to see. Even though these ideas that we are shedding light on are not the most pleasant ones I believe that they still have their place in our society and they should not be ignored. Just because some people decide to ignore that these topics exist does not mean they don’t. I am not choosing to show perfect photographs of a beautiful cake and Jim Goldberg is not choosing to show your typical mantle worthy portrait does not mean they should not be viewed. By viewing photographs like our people will begin to think a lot more critically about certain issues as opposed to the perfect images that we typically see hanging in someone’s living room.
 
 
http://www.olicito.de/blog/photographer-spotlight/145-rich-and-poor-photographs-by-jim-goldberg
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Goldberg

Project Update

I am once again doing my "After the Wedding" project.  It was my original idea but I was having difficulty gaining access.  Now I have a friend who has let me tag along on his wedding shoots so I am back to that idea.  If nobody remembers I will refresh everyones memories.  The idea is to document weddings when they are winding down and aren't so picture perfect as well as the empty spaces that the wedding once occupied.  I will use these images as a social commentary on marriage in America.  I have another wedding this weekend so any feedback would be very helpful!

Progress

CCP Visit

                          

I have always loved Lauren Greenfield’s work so it was great to see some of her prints in person.  Her bodies of work, Fast Forward and Girl Culture have always been appealing to me because the images really speak about the issue of body image and growing up as a young woman in a highly critical community.  She doesn’t even need to speak about the work because it speaks for itself.  The image that really caught my eye at the print viewing was the one of the young girl weighing herself in the bathroom.  It caught my attention right away because just seeing this very thin and young girl standing on this scale with an audience in the background was very disturbing to me.  The way the image is composed you look at the young girl right away because she is in the foreground dead center.  Also the image is lit so you can see every little detail in the image and it is obvious to me that each detail plays an important role. 

This image is talking a lot about body image but I mainly see the different influences that are being placed on this young girl.  First you have what I think are the parents and sister watching her weigh herself.  It is obvious that this is a normal occurrence in their home and the parents seem so serious and concerned that they will not like the number that presents itself on the scale.  I imagine that the sister is next to weigh herself because she is patiently waiting with an expression that seems so sad.  Another influence I noticed is the stack of magazines off to the left.  It is as if they are part of the audience as well and adding more pressure to measure up to them.  Their clothing seems very odd and out of place to me as well.  Their parents seem to be in their pajamas still so I wonder if the girls are ready to go to an event.  Maybe it is the final weigh in that they have been preparing for in order to measure up to the other girls who will be attending.  Overall I find this image disturbing and saddening to know that this is actually happening. 

I think Greenfield created this work to put a spotlight on the young girls who are being influenced by their families and society to measure up to some sort of social norm.  By putting these images out there maybe she is hoping that people will see them and understand that Hollywood is creating a standard that many young people are struggling to reach.  I think she just wants to bring awareness to this very sad and disturbing issue.

I think by seeing this work it has shown me how important it is to gain the trust of your subjects.  If she hadn’t spent countless hours with these girls and their families then she would have never been able to capture the images she did.  In her work you cannot even tell that she is there but she starts to become part of the scene to them.  It has made me realize that in my project I need to do the same thing because people are letting me into their lives and until I gain their trust it will be obvious that they are uncomfortable in the photographs.

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

War Photographer

The images that the photographer captures are so full of emotion and sadness but I do not know how he does it. He talks about how he has to gain the trust of his subjects in order to photograph them at such a difficult time and it is apparent that he has. When photographing them you would never be able to tell just by looking at the images that someone were that close to them. I found myself being annoyed at first thinking he was intruding on these peoples lives. It was so difficult to understand how someone could just stand there and photograph people who were obviously going through a devastating loss. To just stand there and snap away seemed insensitive to what these people were experiencing. As the video progressed I found my opinion starting to change and see that what he was doing may not be as horrible as I had originally thought.


After hearing him speak I began to understand him more. Even though he was given permission by these people to document such a difficult time in their lives I think it would still be hard to capture these moments. I would find myself wondering constantly if this is the right thing to do and I am not positive that I would be able to handle what I was seeing. I feel as if I would find myself emotionally attached to the people and I am not sure if they would help my work or take away from it. He mentioned in the video that during times of war things change. If this were any other time he would not be able to just go into someone’s home and photograph them dealing with their loss. I am not sure that I completely agree with him. I feel like in times of war it may be easier because these people are experiencing such devastating loss that they don’t notice as much the things that are going on around them. At this point they are just trying to survive. I am not saying experiencing a loss in any circumstance is easy but I feel like things dramatically change if you are still surrounded by the very things that caused your loss to happen in the first place.

Some of my favorite images were the ones of poverty in Indonesia. It blew me away seeing how these people live everyday right along side of the train tracks. There was one particular image of a little girl sweeping the tracks with a broom that really made me think about their living situation. This is their home and they are making the best of it. In the video they talk about how these people are not drug addicts but they are families who are trying to provide for one another and not having to pay rent will help them even more. It is not that I haven’t experienced seeing poverty before, because I have, but never of the magnitude that he photographed in Indonesia. It really opened by eyes up to what they have to live through everyday and they still seem to have a positive outlook on life and are grateful for the little that they do have.

Toward the end of the video they show him talking about pain. He compares it to asking a marathon runner if they feel pain. He replies, of course they do but its all about how you can handle that pain that matters. By hearing this it made me realize that he does care about the people and the situations that he chooses to photograph. After doing it for so long he has come to find a place that helps him deal with all the horrible things he witnesses. After watching the whole video and hearing him speak I really have a great respect for those who put their lives and sanity on the line to document such horrible things such as war.

Final Project Update

I am still trying to get my project approved through the human resources department at the hotel I will be shooting at.  Hopefully I will have some images up by the end of this week.

Project Proposal #2

For my project I am considering documenting my job as well as the people I work with which is Dairy Queen.  I spend a great deal of time at my job and it has become my second home and the people are like family to me.


A. I plan in using my Canon Rebel digital camera to take these photos. I plan on exhibiting these photos by showing prints as well as a video with recordings of the sounds at dairy queen.

B. I want to take images of the space with a lot of detail shots as well as images of the people I work with.  The images of the people would include environmental portraits as well as action shots of them working.  I think the images will have a very intimate feel because the spaces and people being photographed are subjects that I feel comfortable with.


C. As far as access I will have unlimited use of the space.  I work full time and I have a key so I can even go after hours if I need to get some empty shots of the space.  This will not be a problem at all.

I have worked at Dairy Queen for over six years and it has become a second home for me.  I have made many great memories and been through life changing situations as well.  I will be leaving in december and I want to document it before I leave.  I have always avoided using dairy queen as a subject in my work but I have finally accepted the fact that it is something that deserves attention.  The people I work with are all unique in their own way and I would love to capture them as well.  It is a place that I have been so familiar with for so long that I would like people to see it from my view.



I hope that the end result will be able to show people my point of view and show the different personalities of those I work with.  Not only will it show the space I spend much of my time in but the people that fill that space.  I want people to see not only is dairy queen filled with teenagers and college students but also single mothers trying to provide for their family.



As far as a budget goes I do not anticipate that this will be a problem. The only cost will be printing and maybe bribing a few of my coworkers :)

Project Proposal #1

For my project I am considering documenting the spaces that have been occupied by weddings but after they are over.  I am interested in seeing what the aftermath looks like because everyone is use to seeing the picture perfect images of the wedding festivities.  I also want these images to be a social commentary on marriage in America.

A. I plan in using my Canon Rebel digital camera to take these photos.  I plan on exhibiting these photos by showing prints as well as either a video with music and captions or maybe a wedding album with captions.

B.  I am not sure that I want to take images with people in them but just simply the space after the wedding. I am sure there will be a few people left cleaning and whatnot but I don't want the people to be the main focus.  So if there are people in the images they will play a very small part.

C. As far as access goes I anticipate this being the biggest problem.  I am going to contact different venues and see if they will give me access to the spaces.  It may become an issue if they feel like I am violating privacy rights.  If I gain the trust of even one or two venues then I will be able to photograph probably every weekend. And maybe even during the week depending on if there are scheduled weddings.

I have had this idea in my head for a for a few semesters now and coming from a family where everyone is divorced it is a topic that I always have wanted to incorporate into my work.  I often wonder if the wedding is the high point of the marriage and what happens afterward?  Wedding seem like a show and what happens when it all falls apart?  I have photographed weddings before and I want to do something totally opposite than what I'm use to as far as content goes. I plan on first finding venues that will give me access to their spaces after the weddings.  Once I have done this I plan on photographing whenever there is a wedding.  I suppose it will mostly be the weekend nights which I am committed to dedicating that time to this. 

I hope that the end result will be able to get my somewhat serious issue across in a slightly humorous way.  I do not want it to be a sad body of work but something satirical.  Even though this issue is something close to me I am not saddened by it but more aware. I understand that a lot of people will end up divorced in the end and its something that I have accepted.  This may sound very negative but to me its the facts. 

As far as a budget goes I do not anticipate that this will be a problem.  The only cost will be printing and gas for transportation but other than that I do not expect any other costs.

I'm Going to the Moon

When I first started taking photographs to bring to the moon I just began shooting the things I would miss and didn’t think anymore into it. But as I continued to shoot I realized there was a common underlying theme and that was that I wanted to remember the warmth of my surroundings. Whether it be a literal sense of warmth or a sentimental sense of warmth for me these images all give off that sense and I know would bring me comfort. When I think about going to the moon I think about being in a very cold environment. So I chose things that I know when I look at them I will at least be able to remember the warmth I use to feel. Whether it be the people that brought me happiness, the objects that triggered cherished memories or the warm Tucson nights I experienced these were definitely things that I did not want to forget.

Angela Singer

I really admire Angela Singer’s commitment to photographing. I have to admit that there are periods of time where I do not photograph for a couple weeks and I am always upset with myself for that. Sometimes I find myself over thinking about what I am photographing and I admire Angela for that not being an issue for her. She photographs without hesitation and shoots almost everything she sees. She does seem almost obsessed with the idea of having to create images on a daily basis and I wonder what would happen if she were not able to photograph for one day? It is obviously a desire she has but I wonder is it something she needs to do as well? Her granddaughter seems to be concerned with Angela’s need to photograph but I do not think it is something she should be too worried about. It may be annoying to have a grandmother who is always documenting her life but I think she is lucky. I cherish the photographs my grandparents took and shared with me. It gave me an insight into their lives before they were ever grandparents or even parents. Angela’s granddaughter is lucky to be able to look at thousands and thousands of photographs that have documented day after day of her grandmother’s life.


What I find most compelling about Angela’s work is the absolute truth in it. For the most part she shoots exactly what is around her. When you look at her images you get a great sense of what her life is like. She photographs her family, her home, her food, even her checks. I also like that her work seems to take the little things in her life and make them seem like big things by giving them their own spotlight. She makes you stop and really take a look at things that other people wouldn’t normally take photographs of or things you wouldn’t care to look at. I think that her work is strong as a whole. When the video shows her show in the gallery it is just perfect. The way the gallery hung her images in a grid was perfect. I think that if I were to see just a single image of hers I wouldn’t feel as compelled by her work. It is the overwhelming amount of images that makes her work so great.

This work is important because it documents an ordinary women’s life. Angela Singer is a woman who grew up in a small town and very rarely left. Her world is something that we wouldn’t normally see but she has given us the privilege to peek into her everyday life. Angela’s life may seem simple to me but that is what makes it so important. She turns the simplicity into something magnificent because she gives every small aspect in her life the attention that I normally would not.

Sally Mann

Sally Mann’s work involving her family, especially her children is very powerful. You can sense how intimate her relationship is with them just by looking at her photographs. Its as if the camera almost isn’t there because the gestures of the children seem too natural. After viewing the video I got a different view, almost behind the scenes of what went into the making of these photographs. These photographs will always be powerful to me but now I understand that these were not just natural photographs but they were often times carefully constructed images. I am not exactly sure how I feel about this. Something changes for me knowing that Sally was trying to control many aspects of the photographs but I think I am ok with this. The fact that she can be directing these images but it still looks as if she were just shooting exactly what she saw before her is great. For the most part her children seemed willing to pose for Sally but there were points in the video where they appeared to be annoyed. I am wondering if they ever got fed up with being photographed on what looked like a daily basis? I wonder if their relationship with Sally was changed because they were constantly being watched for the next good image? These are all things that are issues when something so personal is your most photographed subject matter.


I have photographed close friends and family in the past on numerous occasions. Having willing subjects is always a plus! I mean whenever I photograph the people in my life that are important to me those images seem to be closer to my soul because I have an emotional attachment to the subject. I love photographing my close friends and family but if I were to photograph them during difficult times that may be another story. I have never done anything like that. When I focus on difficult times in my work it is usually based on my own struggles and not that of my family and friends. I think I have avoided doing so because I do not want to ask them to expose themselves like that but now that I think of it maybe it wouldn’t be something they would be opposed to. To only focus on the good times in life and avoid the difficult is unrealistic. It gives a false sense of the person if you only pick and choose when you will document their lives. Sally Mann did a great job of showing the spectrum of her children’s lives. She wasn’t afraid of photographing them in difficult times because that is reality. I commend her on doing this because I would be afraid that it would cause tension between me and my subject. You have to find someone that would be willing to give you full access of their lives and that is a lot to ask of a person.

Like I mentioned earlier I have tackled some of my own issues in my work. But I am not sure how I would feel having someone document a personal aspect of my life. I don’t know if it is because I am a photographer but I am not sure if I would be willing to give up that control. I have always tackled the issues myself and I would really have to trust someone to let them have full access into my life. Also I do not think the work would be successful unless I fully trusted the photographer. I think the reason Sally Mann’s work is so powerful is because her relationship with her children is so apparent in her work. Having a personal aspect of my life documented by someone else is something I would eventually love to do but at this point I am not completely sure I would be able to give up full control. But if I were ever able to let someone have full access into my life it would probably give me a whole new perspective that I would have never gotten before. It would also help me see a new way to photograph myself that I otherwise would have never known.

My desire to produce something as emotional as Sally Mann’s work is very strong. I want my viewer to be able to look at my images of my friends and family and be able to understand the relationship I have with these people. I also want my images to tell a story about these people so that you have a better understanding of who they are after you see a series about them, or even a single image. I understand that these sorts of images are not created so simply. I feel I would need to spend countless hours spending time with my subject and getting to know them even better than I already do. I would want to the camera to be like another person and not something that would be intimidating to my subject. I realize this will take time but if I am on my way to producing images even slightly closer to the magnitude of Sally Mann’s work then it is well worth it.