What caught my attention the most was the section of different photographs that covered a whole wall, titled “Proof.” The pictures consisted of a mix of different types of photos such as Polaroids and inkjet prints. According to Jim Goldberg, it was his “attempt to assemble a ‘family album’; a catalogs raisonné of all my (Goldberg’s) photographic encounters during the past nine years…”
In almost all of the photos, Goldberg captures a different person’s face. Each of these people come from different places. I noticed that many people had quite sad or hopeless expressions. Some photos even had writing on them, which talked about the person’s life story. For example, one photo that struck out to me was a photo of a girl. On the photo was written her life story: she was beaten up and drugged at age 14 in Turkey and was later sold as a sex slave in Greece but she is currently free. This is only one story out of many others. When I see the expressions on these people’s faces, I can detect the pain and suffering many of them went through. Even though I may not know what exactly they have gone through, I think the saying is true; a picture is worth a thousand words. From each of these pictures, you can see that many of these people lived completely different lives from the lives we have here.
I think the point of this group of photos is to make us aware of what is happening around the world. I think Goldberg wants us to know that people like them exist, hence the title “Proof,” since these pictures are proof of these people’s existence. These photos made me aware of the different tragedies around the world, but also at the same time, the hope that this world has, such as the freedom the girl mentioned above obtained, “thanks to good people.” It made me feel very fortunate for the environment I live in today and the many opportunities I had.
Why do you think Goldberg named his piece “Proof” and how did these photos make you feel ?
Karen, this is an excellent first try at an exhibition review. Your argument that the photographs serve as a kind of evidence, or witness, to a life is really insightful! Its also really interesting to think about how the photographs tell a story about humanity–why do you think he chose to show so many images as part of a whole? Next time, make sure you mention more detail about the installation, for instance, where were these images taken?
Hey Karen,
It’s certainly chilling to think how many people can simply express their entire life through nothing but their facial expression. I think it would be interesting to take a picture of our own faces and see how they change through time. In my opinion, Goldberg named this exhibition “Proof” because it is solid evidence of what people have gone through. People can lie through writing, through speech, and even through actions. People’s true facial expression would always come through, no matter how much they would try to hide it. All the different photos can illicit different feelings from me: the photo about the girl that was a Greek sex slave made me feel almost disappointed about how horrible people can be.
Stephen Ng