David Goldblatt
dal 16/6/2005 al 21/8/2005
Segnalato da
16/6/2005
David Goldblatt
Museum Kunstpalast, Dusseldorf
Intersections. Color photographs
Curated by Christoph Danelzik-Bruggemann
Following last year's exhibition “Africa Remix†at museum kunst palast with a
selection of works by David Goldblatt (*1930 in Randfontein, South Africa), the
museum is now presenting "Intersections", a new group of works consisting
of color photographs by the same artist.
David Goldblatt, works in the tradition of the great documentary photographers of
the twentieth century, has been observing his native country with the camera ever
since the National Party came to power in South Africa in 1948 and openly proclaimed
the policy of apartheid. His images of life in the 'homelands', the workers in the
gold mines and the growth of urban sprawl have been published in a large number of
magazines and books. His main work, "South Africa: The Structure of Things
then", appeared in 1998. It shows locations prominent in South African memory,
which reflect the country's social upheavals.
Until well into the 1990's, Goldblatt photographed exclusively in black and white.
For decades, he had been developing an incisive brand of esthetics which never took
a back seat to the documentary message of his photographs. Aware that a new epoch in
the country's history had dawned when Nelson Mandela's government took over,
Goldblatt began to look for new expressive possibilities and turned to color
photography.
Although David Goldblatt is considered to be among today's most significant
proponents of contemporary photographic art, he has only become known in Europe in
recent years. Two groups of his works were featured at the Documenta11: a selection
from "Boksburg", an older series on the life of white Africans, and a
small selection of new color photographs from the "Jo'burg Intersections"
series.
The museum kunst palast shows a new group of works called "Platteland
Intersections". Here Goldblatt's photos depict the damage suffered by humans
and countryside in a land whose people have had to reorient themselves entirely
following the demise of apartheid.
"Platteland Intersections" will be contrasted with "Johannesburg
Intersections", which concentrates on views of the metropolis. This results in
exciting constellations demonstrating the relation between political and physical
geography in South Africa, made visible in the changes undergone by the city and the
countryside. Thus a new image of the country in the twenty-first century is created.
Scope of exhibits: appr. 70 to 80 photographs.
There will be a publication in English with a German translation insert. Publisher: Prestel
Verlag, Munich.
The Stiftung museum kunst palast is a public-private partnership between the state
capital of Duesseldorf, E.ON AG, METRO Group and degussa AG.
Museum Kunst Palast
Ehrenhof 4-5, 40479 Dusseldorf
Museum Hours
Tuesday - Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Closed Mondays