David Goldblatt & Mikhael Subotzky
South Africa,
Chromatic Existences:

  • France
  • en
  • [cc]
  • 14'
David Goldblatt & Mikhael Subotzky |South Africa, Chromatic Existences
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Synopsis

South Africa is commonly associated with violence, through its history, of course, but also as a mirror of an all-pervasive global violence. David Goldblatt, himself a victim in his country, has chosen to photograph the criminals in large format, drive them to the scene of their crime and listen to their story. Mikhael Subotzky is questioning violence and its representation. He has confronted the aesthetic approach assumed by photography and the reality that surrounds it.

What you will learn in this film…

The value of photography according to David Goldblatt • His quest for reality • The origin of the series Ex-Offenders • His listening work • The crime scene • A face of violence • A specificity of black and white • A search for equality with the subject • The source of crime for David Goldblatt • A link between South African violence and global violence • A violence of representation • The importance of form • A search for instability in the composition of the photograph • The photographic double according to Wim Wenders

Keywords

Reportage & Society Portrait & Aesthetics Masters of Photography
When you make a photograph in black and white, you want to tell something in a medium that is limited. That forces you to extract from reality something that is like a juice.
A photograph is always a double image, showing at first glance its subject, but at a second glance, more or less visible, the picture of the photographer in action.

Documentaries about photography, and about the people who make it. 
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What you’ll find

Portraits of photographers, names everyone knows and others you’ll discover here. Films about street photography, war, fashion or portraiture, about printing and historical processes. About the trades of photography too. And then suggestions for going further, with Focuses, articles, interviews, bibliographies.

A small independent team

Documentaries about photography were rarely shown on television, and hardly at all on streaming platforms. We created The Darkroom Rumour to give them a place of their own. We are a small team, and we choose every film ourselves, with no school to defend.

Inspire your photography

In these films, you see photographers at work, in the field as well as in the darkroom. If you take pictures, you’ll often come away with an idea to try. If you simply like looking at images, you may start to see them differently.

How it works 

You can watch the films online, anywhere in the world, on a computer, tablet or phone, and on TV by mirroring your phone’s or computer’s screen. Every film is available in French and English, with no ads. New releases come out on Saturday or Sunday. The trial lasts 7 days, and if you stop before day 8, you pay nothing.

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Linked Articles

The authors/artists

David Goldblatt
David Goldblatt
Photographer
Mikhael Subotzky
Mikhael Subotzky
Photographer
Nathalie Masduraud et Valérie Urréa
Nathalie Masduraud et Valérie Urréa
Directors

Further exploration

Bibliography

• David Goldblatt, Ex Offenders at the Scene of Crime, Steidl Verlag, 2020. Libraries

• David Goldblatt, Ivor Powell and Karolina Ziebinska-Lewandowska, David Goldblatt: Structures of Dominion and Democracy, Steidl, 2018. Libraries

• Mikhael Subotzky and Jonny Steinberg, Beaufort West, Chris Boot, 2008. Libraries

• Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse, Ponte City, Steidl Interart, 2014. Libraries

Online

• Goodman Gallery, website.

• David Goldblatt: photographer who found the human in an inhuman social landscape, Paul Weinberg, The Conversation, 2018.

• Mikhael Subotzky, website.

• Mikhael Subotzky: In Conversation, Yuka Yamaji, interview, Phillips.

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