David Goldblatt in Color

Another artist who deals with deeper issues through photography of the landscape is the South African photographer David Goldblatt. Goldblatt is best known for his work during the apartheid era, including the highly regarded book In Boksburg, which portrayed a comfortable white town blissfully ignorant of the suffering of the majority of the country's population. Since the apartheid era ended, he has continued to concentrate on the South African landscape and its relationship to history and the contemporary problems facing the country.

Published as a book in 2005, Goldblatt's body of work, "Intersections", much of which can be found here, is remarkable for its understanding and dissection of contemporary South Africa, all the while maintaining a clear-eyed distance from its subjects. Made in large format color, it is among the best work of his career. As the link above shows, "Intersections" contains four separate series. I have included examples of three of these below.

David Goldblatt, On the stoep, Hondeklipbaai, Northern Cape. 13 September 2003, from "Landscapes"

David Goldblatt, Hoping for work, Middelburg, Eastern Cape. 24 November 2004, from "Landscapes"

David Goldblatt, Port Nolloth, Northern Cape, 28 December 2003, from "In the Time of AIDS"

David Goldblatt, Memorials: Heidi, Marius, Andri, Ruan, Near Maselspoort, Bloemfontein, Free State. 17 August 2004, from "Memorials"

David Goldblatt, The graves of the Cradock Four, Cradock, Eastern Cape. 14 October 2004, from "Memorials"

David Goldblatt's artist page at Goodman Gallery has a good selection of his recent work, including from "Intersections".