Jim Goldberg (born 1953) is an American artist and

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

, whose work reflects long-term, in-depth collaborations with neglected, ignored, or otherwise outside-the-mainstream populations. Goldberg has received three

National Endowment of the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

Fellowships in Photography, a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award, and the

Deutsche Börse Photography Prize Deutsch ( , ) or Deutsche ( , ) may refer to: * or : the German language or in particular Standard German, spoken in central European countries and other places *Old High German language refers to Deutsch as a way to define the primary characteris ...

. His works have been exhibited, published, and collected internationally. Goldberg is Professor Emeritus at the

California College of the Arts The California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996, it opened a second campus in ...

, and has been a member of the

Magnum Photos Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices in Paris, New York City, London and Tokyo. It was founded in 1947 in Paris by photographers Robert Capa, David Seymour (photographer), Davi ...

agency since 2002. He lives and works in the greater

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

Education

Goldberg studied at

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a Private college, private art school, college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mis ...

with Larry Sultan, a conceptually oriented photographer.

Artistic career

Goldberg is best known for his photography books, multi-media exhibitions, and video installations, among them: ''Rich and Poor'' (1985), ''Nursing Home'', ''Raised by Wolves'' (1995), ''Hospice'', and ''Open See'' (2009). His work often examines the lives of neglected, ignored, or otherwise outside-the-mainstream populations through long-term, in depth collaborations which investigate the nature of American myths about class, power, and happiness. Goldberg is part of an experimental documentary movement in photography, using a straightforward,

cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ) is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about '' Kino-Pravda''. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subje ...

approach, based on a fundamentally narrative understanding of photography. The individuality of the subjects emerges in his works, "forming a context within which the viewer may integrate the unthinkable into the concept of self. Thus portrayed, this terrifying other is restored as a universal." Goldberg's work was featured with that of Robert Adams and

Joel Sternfeld Joel Sternfeld (born June 30, 1944) is an American artist using photography, as well as an educator and writer. He is known for his large-format color photography of contemporary American life. His work contributed to the establishment of color ph ...

in a 1984 exhibition at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

entitled ''Three Americans''; the exhibition was described as "a show of politically charged and socially conscious images." His 1985 book ''Rich and Poor'', re-released by Steidl in an expanded edition in 2014, includes photographs of people in their homes along with handwritten comments by them about their lives.Roth, Andrew, editor. ''The book of 101 books: seminal photographic books of the 20th century''. New York: PPP Editions in association with Roth Horowitz LLC, 2001. . 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 1986 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.Pincus, Robert L. 'Invisible People' come to life in stirring photographic show. ''San Diego Union'', April 3, 1988. 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."Richard, Paul. Making an issue of it - in the post-postmodern look, the power's in the message. ''Washington Post'', 24 September 1990. A major mixed-media exhibition by Goldberg concerning at risk and homeless youth in California entitled ''Raised by Wolves'' began traveling in 1995 and was accompanied by a book of the same title.Richard, Paul. Finding beauty in desperation - at the Corcoran, Jim Goldberg's stirring photos of runaway children. ''Washington Post'', 18 September 1995. A review of the exhibition at the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...

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 in ''The Photobook: A History'',

Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...

and Gerry Badger praised it as "complex and thoughtful." A 1999 mixed media installation at the

San Francisco Arts Commission The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy in San Francisco, Cal ...

gallery entitled "57/78/97" explored race relations in the United States, including the Little Rock Crisis of 1957, the 1978 ''

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke ''Regents of the University of California v. Bakke'', 438 U.S. 265 (1978), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that involved a dispute over whether preferential treatment for minorities could reduce educational o ...

'' decision, and the year following the passage of California Proposition 209 (1996) concerning

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

.Miller, Alicia. Jim Goldberg at the San Francisco Art Commission Gallery.] ''Artweek'', volume 30, number 5, pages 17-18, May 1999. Selected photographs from a series by Goldberg called "Open See," concerning refugees, immigrants, and trafficked people, were first exhibited in San Francisco in 2007.Baker, Kenneth
Jim Goldberg's brave images are more than just art.
''San Francisco Chronicle'', 03 November 2007. Accessed 24 January 2010. 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",O'Hagan, Sean
Jim Goldberg: Open See.
''The Observer'', 1 November 2009. Accessed 24 January 2010. and Goldberg's book of that title was published in 2009 by

Steidl Steidl is a German-language publisher based in Göttingen, Germany. Founded in 1968 by Gerhard Steidl, it publishes photobooks. Overview The company was started by Gerhard Steidl.Bill Kouwenhoven, "Off to see the wizard", ''British Journa ...

. In 2013 Goldberg was an artist in residence at Yale University Art Gallery with

Donovan Wylie Donovan Wylie (born 1971) is a Northern Irish photographer, based in Belfast. His work chronicles what he calls "the concept of vision as power in the architecture of contemporary conflict" – prison, army watchtowers and outposts, and listenin ...

. They each created a body of work based in New Haven. In ''Candy'', Goldberg, a New Haven native, creates a multilayered photo-novel of aspiration and disillusionment, interspersing Super 8 film stills, images of New Haven's urban landscape, annotated Polaroid portraits, and collaged archival materials to explicate the rise and fall of American cities in the 20th century. Goldberg considers New Haven's quest to become a "model city" of America, contrasting its civic aspirations with its citizens' lived realities. Goldberg was a Professor Emeritus of Photography and Fine Arts at the

California College of the Arts
Faculty. Jim Goldberg.
Accessed 30 January 2010. from 1987 to 2014 and has been a full member of the

agency since 2006. He lives and works in the Bay Area. His fashion, editorial and advertising work has appeared in publications including ''W'', ''Details'', ''Flaunt'', ''The New York Times Magazine'', ''Esquire'', ''Rebel'', ''GQ'', ''The New Yorker'' and ''Dazed and Confused''.

Personal life

, Goldberg lives on a farm in

Sonoma County Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

, California with his partner Alessandra Sanguinetti, his daughter Ruby, and Sanguinetti's daughter Cat.

Publications

Publications by Goldberg

*''Rich and Poor.'' **New York:

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, 1985. . **Göttingen, Germany:

, 2014. . Expanded edition. *''Raised by Wolves.'' Zurich and New York: Scalo, 1995. . *''It Ended Sad, But I Love Where it Began.'' Kin series, book 4. Oakland, CA: These Birds Walk, 2007. * ''Open See.'' Göttingen, Germany: Steidl, 2009. . * ''134 Ways to Forget.'' Kamakura, Japan: Super Labo, 2011. . Edition of 700 copies. * ''Proof.'' New York:

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a photography museum and school at 84 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. ICP's photographic collection, reading room, and archives are at Mana Contemporary in Jer ...

, 2013. . Zine format. Edition of 1000 copies. * ''Polaroids from Haiti.'' One Picture Book 84. Portland, OR: Nazraeli, 2014. . * ''The Last Son.'' Kanagawa, Japan: Super Labo, 2016. . *''Candy.'' New Haven, CT:

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, 2017. . A two-volume set with

's ''A Good and Spacious Land.'' * ''Ruby Every Fall.'' Paso Robles: Nazraeli Press, 2016. Edition of 100 copies. *''Raised By Wolves Bootleg''. Self-published, 2016. Edition of 500 copies. *''Darrell and Particia''. San Francisco: Pier 24 Photography, 2018. Edition of 1,500 copies. *''Gene''. Self-published. Edition of 250 copies. *''Fingerprint''. London: Stanley/Barker, 2020. Box set of 45 facsimile Polaroids. *''Coming and Going''. London: Mack, 2023. .

Publications paired with others

*''Candy.'' New Haven, CT:

, 2017. . A two-volume set with

's ''A Good and Spacious Land.''

Publications with contributions by Goldberg

*''Hospice: a photographic inquiry''. Boston:

Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

, in association with the

and National Hospice Foundation, 1996. . With

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work explores in snapshot-style the emotions of the individual, in intimate relationships, and the Bohemian style, bohemian LGBT subcultural communities, especially dealing w ...

Sally Mann Sally Mann (born Sally Turner Munger; May 1, 1951) is an American photographer known for making large format black and white photographs of people and places in her immediate surroundings: her children, husband, and rural landscapes, as well as ...

, Jack Radcliffe, and Kathy Vargas. *''War is only half the story: the Aftermath Project''. Volume 1. New York:

Aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

, 2008. . With Wolf Böwig. *''Here.'' San Francisco: Pier 24 Photography, 2011. . Exhibition Guide. *''About Face.'' San Francisco: Pier 24 Photography, 2012. . Exhibition Guide. **''About Face.'' San Francisco: Pier 24 Photography, 2014. . Edition of 1000 copies. Exhibition Catalog. *''Rochester 585/716: A Postcard from America Project.'' New York: Aperture; San Francisco: Pier 24 Photography, 2015. . Edition of 1000 copies.

Awards and grants

* 1980

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

(NEA) Fellowship in Photography. * 1983 Ruttenberg Fellowship. * 1985 Cambridge Art Council Commission. * 1985

. * 1989 Mother Jones Photography Award. * 1989 Art Matters grant. * 1990

(NEA) Fellowship in Photography. * 1990

California Arts Council The California Arts Council functions as a state agency headquartered in Sacramento, California. Its board comprises eight council members who receive appointments from both the Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and ...

Fellowship. * 1992 Glen Eagles Foundation Grant. * 1992 Art Matters grant.Art Matters
Past grantees.
Accessed 30 January 2010. * 1995 Ernst Haas Award (Photography Book of the Year for ''Raised by Wolves''). * 1996 Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhaker Foundation. * 1996 Gerbode Foundation Grant. * 2001 The Art Council Award. * 2006 Documentary Photography Project Distribution Grant,

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

. * 2007 , Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation. * 2011

Exhibitions

*1979: Nova Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. *1980: Equivalents Gallery, Seattle, WA. *1981:

OK Harris Gallery The OK Harris Gallery was an art gallery located at 383 West Broadway in SoHo, New York City. The gallery closed in 2014. Founded by longtime art dealer Ivan Karp after leaving the Leo Castelli gallery in 1969 where he had worked as gallery co-dir ...

, New York. *1981: Bakersfield College, Bakersfield, CA. *1982: Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR. *1984: Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX. *1984:

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, Bloomington, United States. *1984:

Friends of Photography Friends of Photography was a nonprofit organization started by Ansel Adams and others in 1967 to promote photography as a fine art. During its existence the organization held at least 330 photography exhibitions at its galleries in Carmel and San ...

Gallery, Carmel, CA. *1985:

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

, Ithaca, United States. *1985:

De Saisset Museum The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University opened in 1955, after Isabel de Saisset, the last member of a California pioneer family bequeathed her estate to the University of Santa Clara. The museum owns nearly 10,000 art pieces and historic ...

, Santa Clara, United States. *1987:

Akron Art Museum The Akron Art Museum is an art museum in Akron, Ohio, United States. The museum first opened on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library. The Institute offered clas ...

, Akron, United States. *1987:

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

, Bellingham, United States. *1988: Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, D.C. *1988: ''Invisible People,''

Museum of Photographic Arts The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, ...

, San Diego, CA. *1989: Capp Street Project, San Francisco, CA. *1989:

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Health Science Center, Houston, TX. *1990: ''Shooting Back: Photography by and About the Homeless,'' Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, D.C. *1990: Art at the Anchorage,

Creative Time Creative Time is a nonprofit arts organization based in New York City. Founded in 1974, it supports the commissioning, production, and presentation of site-specific and socially engaged public art projects. History Creative Time was founded i ...

, New York. *1991:

Art in General Art in General was a Non-profit organization, non-profit contemporary art exhibition space known for its vibrant and ground-breaking projects as a formidable and longstanding New York City alternative space, focused on giving meaningful resource ...

, New York. *1995: ''Raised by Wolves,''

, Washington, D.C.;

Museum of Design Zürich The Museum of Design, Zürich (German: ''Museum für Gestaltung Zürich'') is a museum for industrial design, visual communication, architecture, and craft in Zurich, Switzerland. Overview The museum is part of the Department of Cultural Anal ...

, Switzerland. *1996: ''Jim Goldberg: Raised by Wolves,'' Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; PaceWildenstein/MacGill, New York;

Addison Gallery of American Art Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario, a community United States * Addison, Alabama, a town * Addison, Illinois, a village * Addison, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Addison, Maine, a town * Addison, Michigan, a vil ...

, Andover, United States. *1997: ''Raised by Wolves,''

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern art, modern and contemporary art museum and nonprofit organization located in San Francisco, California. SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th-century art ...

, San Francisco, CA;

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, Los Angeles, CA; Pace/Wildenstein/MacGill, Los Angeles, CA. *1999: 57/78/97,''

Gallery, San Francisco, CA. *2004: ''Two Stories,'' Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York. *2005: ''In the Open See,'' Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto, Canada. *2007: ''The New Europeans,'' Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, CA. *2009: ''Raised By Wolves,''

Rencontres d'Arles The Rencontres d'Arles (formerly called ''Rencontres internationales de la photographie d'Arles'') is an annual summer photography festival founded in 1970 by the Arles photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historian ...

, Arles, France. *2009: ''Open See,''

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established ...

, London. *2009: ''Open See,'' Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris. *2010: ''Jim Goldberg,'' Parco 2, Pordenone Contemporary Art Exhibition Site Via Bertossi, Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, November 2010 – January 2011. *2011: ''Here.,'' Pier 24 Photography, San Francisco, CA, May 2011 – January 2012 *2024-2025: The ’70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography, National Gallery of Art

Collections

Goldberg's work is held in the following public collections:

References

External links

*
Profile
at Magnum Photos
Biography from Stephen Bulger Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Jim 1953 births Living people American photographers Magnum photographers Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Art Institute alumni Western Washington University alumni Artists from New Haven, Connecticut Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize winners