Face of Our Time examines more than 100 works by five photographers-Jacob Aue Sobol, Jim Goldberg, Zanele Muholi, Daniel Schwartz, and Richard Misrach-who operate within what Walker Evans referred to as the "documentary style." Sharing an interest in making pictures that capture what the world looks like, they observe the sometimes volatile civil and political transformations facing society and look reflectively at contemporary culture, recording history as it unfolds slowly over time. Aue Sobol's gentle and sculptural pictures reveal the hardships of life in the Arctic; Goldberg's multilayered series includes fragmented narratives from the migration of illegal immigrants from Africa to Europe; Muholi commemorates and celebrates the histories and struggles that black lesbians face in her native South Africa; Schwartz reveals the overlapping narratives between the Silk Route's ancient history and the military and economic power struggles that it faces today; and the Richard Misrach photographs, from his recently published book, Destroy This Memory, are an informal, yet personal collection of pictures taken in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy in New Orleans.
Watch short videos featuring three artists from Face of Our Time:
Jim Goldberg on his documentary practice
Richard Misrach on Destroy This Memory
Daniel Schwartz on "Traveling Through the Eye of History"
Face of Our Time: Jacob Aue Sobol, Jim Goldberg, Zanele Muholi, Daniel Schwartz, Richard Misrach is organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Generous support is provided by Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council.
Face of Our Time at UMMA is made possible in part by the Lois Zenkel Photographic Exhibitions Fund, the University of Michigan Health System, and the University of Michigan Office of the Provost and CEW Frances and Sydney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund.
Images
Jim Goldberg, Making Fire, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2008; chromogenic print; 30 in. x 40 in. (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm); Collection SFMOMA, purchase through a gift of Nicola Miner and Robert Mailer Anderson; © Jim Goldberg
Jacob Aue Sobol, Untitled #8, from the series Sabine,1999-2002; gelatin silver print; 16 in. x 20 in. (40.64 cm x 50.8 cm); Courtesy the artist and Yossi Milo Gallery, New York; © Jacob Aue Sobol, courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
Zanele Muholi, Nomonde Mbusi, Berea, Johannesburg, 2007; gelatin silver print; 23 13/16 in. x 34 1/16 in. (60.48 cm x 86.52 cm); Collection of the artist, courtesy Michael Stevenson Gallery; © Zanele Muholi
Daniel Schwartz, Winter Day, Kabul, Afghanistan, from the series Travelling Through the Eye of History, 2006; inkjet print; 27 9/16 in. x 27 9/16 in. (70 cm x 70 cm); Collection SFMOMA, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; © Daniel Schwartz
Richard Misrach, Untitled [New Orleans and the Gulf Coast], 2005, printed 2010; inkjet print; 10 7/8 in. x 14 1/2 in. (27.62 cm x 36.83 cm); Collection SFMOMA, gift of the artist and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco; © Richard Misrach