Photographers in Focus: Jim Goldberg
DESIGN→Exploring the intricacies of the American photographer’s practice through the making of his career-defining monograph,
Coming and Going Photographer Jim Goldberg made his name engaging with life on the periphery of society, lensing t
he class structures, stigmas and heartbreak entwined
with 20th Century America.
Capturing the stark divide between 80s San Francisco’s
wealthiest residents and those living in poverty for Rich and Poor (1985), followed by seminal work Raised by Wolves (1995) – documenting the street kids of California through photography, fragments of conversations, and intimate scrawlings –
Goldberg is responsible for some of the most powerful documentary photography of a nation in transition, yet continually bound by its issues.
An autobiographical work which has been decades in the making, 2023 marked the release of Jim Goldberg’s landmark publication Coming and Going. Turning the camera on his own world,
the book offers a vulnerable account of his search for the elusive universals of experience, expressing the grief following the death
of his parents, the life-altering birth of a child, the heartbreak of divorce, and the rediscovery of love in a unique photo memoir.
“In this film, we uncover the unique process that has so defined Goldberg's artistic practice, in which collaged imagery,
personal notes, collages, and ephemera come together to capture the bittersweet realities of an individual life.
”Following Goldberg to Northern Italy for Photographers in Focus, in an episode commissioned by MACK, we unearth the intricacies of Goldberg's artistic practice, approached through multi-media assemblage. Documenting his work with the teams at MACK
and Longo during the printing and production of
Coming and Going, the film meditates on Goldberg’s
influential archive and his personal landscape, honoring a singular career defined by the realities of experience.
This episode was filmed at Longo printers, and was produced
in collaboration with Magnum, working with videographer
Michele Foti and editor Roisin McAuley.