Jim Goldberg

Jim Goldberg, born June 3rd, 1953, is an American photographer best known for his collaborations with those on social outskirts. His projects focus on the lives of those who are typically unheard and ignored, such as the elderly and the homeless.

Goldberg's work, regardless of whether it's a book, exhibition or video installation, is fairly narrative based. He uses his photography to present the lives of his subjects, who he spends years working with. Not only does he photograph the people themselves, but he also introduces us to elements of their lives by including pictures of their belongings, their hand written notes and sometimes their family photos. 

I've found that his work really humanises and brings the "characters" to life, and it's no surprise really. He befriends his subjects and allows them to have a say in what's included. This is pretty clear within multiple projects - such as the handwritten notes about the photos in "Rich and Poor", and the photographs of the stacked reject piles from Gene.

Raised by Wolves

The most relevant project of his to the Urban and Own Environment brief is possibly Raised by Wolves. The book captures the lives of homeless youths, with a focus on Echo and Dave. As I watched the linked flick-through of the book, I found myself growing more and more invested, and spent some time doing some further research to get a proper grasp on the "story". Despite me not knowing the ins and outs while watching, it's evident that the people shown are in a pretty vulnerable state.
I learnt quite a bit about both Echo and Dave. When Goldberg and Echo first met, she was 13, and new to the streets. She had ran away from home after her step-father had molested her. Her real name was Beth. Dave, on the other hand, was a twin, born to a young mother and a politician father - definitely not the story he'd used to introduce himself originally. He'd lied about this to the others to create a new identity, after being raised by a homeless junkie whore. His scarred stomach was the result of a birth defect. Echo became pregnant, and Jim helped her through her pregnancy. Her mother also helped her toward the end of it, and after the book, she returned home to continue her life with her daughter. Dave stayed friends with Goldberg, and believed he was dying. He'd been promising his family he'd return home to see them for a few years. From the hospital, Dave called Goldberg to tell him he lived him, and when Jim woke up the next morning, he'd passed away.
Raised by Wolves is hard hitting project that presents the sides of homelessness we don't think about, like pregnancy, and using prostitution as a way to be able to eat. It really made me consider how privileged I am.

I decided I wouldn't create any pastiches of Goldberg's work - some of his projects take years, and I don't believe I'd be able to create anything as hard hitting within the timescale of this brief. That said, I wanted to include him as a form of research - his work reaches further than what we're used to seeing, and he's able to present his subjects in an incredibly three dimensional way, capturing their personalities and lives.