RIP David Goldblatt
He showed the world the many faces of apartheid
TRIBUTES continue to pour in – including from President Cyril Ramaphosa – for the elder statesman of SA documentary photography David Goldblatt‚ who died on Monday. He was 87.
For millions of people outside of SA Goldblatt’s work lifted the veil on the nightmare of life under the National Party’s apartheid laws from 1948.
Goldblatt was the first South African to be given a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and his work is exhibited and continues to be collected in leading galleries world wide.
“We have lost yet another of our own celebrated photographers, who through the lens built a reputation as one of the country’s leading documenters of the struggles of our people,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
Goldblatt had “captured the social and moral value systems that portrayed SA during a period of the apartheid system in order to influence its changing political landscape,” the president said.
What is not widely known, according to SA History Online, is that it was Goldblatt who initiated the first open dialogue between the ANC and SA captains of capital.
He had been in Lusaka with Hugh Murray, owner and editor of Leadership magazine, to do a feature on President Kenneth Kaunda. After the interview Goldblatt suggested they try to get an interview with Oliver Tambo, head of the then banned ANC. This set the ball rolling and the first meeting between business and the ANC was held in 1985 in Lusaka.
The grandson of Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants, Goldblatt was born on November 29, 1930, in the mining town of Randfontein. According to SAHO, he was the third son of Eli Goldblatt and Olga Light, both of whom came to SA as children with their parents to escape the persecution of Lithuanian-Jewish communities in the 1890s.
Goldblatt’s interest in photography was sparked by his mother giving him a camera. After he matriculated in 1948 he set his sights on photojournalism, influenced by the work of photographers on major news magazines such as Life and Picture Post.
In the 1950s Goldblatt started photographing the unfolding political campaigns mounted by the Congress Alliance. Amongst his memorable projects were six months in 1972 photographing Soweto and from 1976-1977 he travelled on a bicycle photographing mainly the forced removal threat faced by the Johannesburg Indian community of Fietas (Pageview).
In 1985 he participated in a seminal exhibition‚ South Africa the Cordoned
Heart‚ curated by fellow photographer Omar Badsha‚ a founder of Afrapix.
He had been asked by Badsha to cover the story of workers who travelled an average of four hours per day by bus between the homelands and large cities.
In the 1980s, as photographic editor of Leadership magazine, Goldblatt published the work of many younger documentary photographers and in 1989‚ together with some friends‚ he raised funds to set up the Market Photography Workshop in Johannesburg‚ which has trained many young photographers.
In the mid 1980s Goldblatt also began a 15-year project that culminated in the publication in 1998 of South Africa‚ The Structure of Things Then.
Apart from his exquisite portraits of human beings in their daily lives and the liberation struggle in particular‚ he also provided a different perspective on architecture‚ and how it reflects power.
This was his focus post-apartheid when he also took a public stand against former president Jacob Zuma’s bid to ram through Draconian secrecy laws.
In an interview with the Sunday Times‚ Goldblatt encouraged other documentary photographers to stay the course.
“I think we must never forget that the price of liberty is very high and you have to keep at it all the time.
“You can’t not keep watching‚ you’ve got to keep watching because otherwise the rot creeps in.”
In March 2006, Goldblatt was honoured for his portrayal of social and political life in the country of his birth, receiving the Hasselblad Foundation Award, considered the most prestigious photographic award.
His list of other impressive awards includes the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award and International Centre for Photography Cornell Capa Lifetime Achievement Award.
He was also an honorary fellow of The Royal Photographic Society.
Describing Goldblatt as “one of SA’s most accomplished social chroniclers”, art conservator Monique Vajifdar said he “inspired generations” of younger photo-journalists.
“By documenting the daily life of South Africans under apartheid and postapartheid‚ he gave all of us a more complete picture of South African history and society. A great tree has fallen and we have lost one of our national living treasures. RIP David Goldblatt”.
He leaves his wife, Lily‚ and three children.
He was buried yesterday. — TBG and AFP