David Goldblatt's 80th Birthday Exhibition at Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg

David Goldblatt celebrated his 80th birthday with an exhibition titled Fale le Fale at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg, which he founded in 1989. The show, running until 29 July 2011 at 2 President Street, Newtown, Johannesburg 2001, features small-format photographs spanning from the 1960s to recent work, including black-and-white and digital color prints. Goldblatt, an internationally renowned photographer with awards like the Hasselblad and Henri Cartier-Bresson, has exhibited at MoMA and Documenta. The exhibition includes portraits of ex-offenders also shown at the Venice Biennale, triptychs extending narratives, and images like Menu (1971) and Willem Vorster with friends, family, house and garden, 2009. Curated with John Fleetwood and Molemo Moiloa, the selection aims to provoke students with diverse, previously unshown pieces. Goldblatt describes himself as an unlicensed critic of South African society, influenced by literary friends such as Nadine Gordimer, Barney Simon, and Ivan Vladislavic. His work balances scorn, compassion, and visual poetry, with titles adding narrative weight. A photograph of Kevin Kwanele’s Takwaito Barber in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, 2007, is displayed in large format at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg, while the small version here offers a more poignant human document. The exhibition reflects Goldblatt's independence from contemporary art trends and political stereotypes.