The Proof

by Jim Goldberg

Published to accompany an installation by the artist at the International Center for Photography, NYC. the project has turned into an archive of hundreds of photos. From the " [A photograph] is a part of the evidence. I’m not saying it’s the truth—it’s part of the evidence. ... Before I even took pictures I knew that I wanted to have them as hard copy memories.... There are many images which I miss on purpose. I’ve done too many of them before and photographing them again doesn’t change the world, or me. ... The photograph is kind of a proof—a proof that I actually met these people, that they actually have lives, and that they’re worth considering. ... I have the great privilege of being both witness and storyteller. Intimacy, trust and intuition guide my work. "

48 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jim Goldberg’s innovative and multidisciplinary approach to documentary makes him a landmark photographer and social practitioner of our times. His work often examines the lives of neglected, ignored, or otherwise outside-the-mainstream populations through long-term, in depth collaborations which investigate the nature of American myths about class, power, and happiness.

A prolific and influential bookmaker, Goldberg’s recent books include Ruby Every Fall, Nazraeli Press (2014); The Last Son, Super Labo (2016); Raised By Wolves Bootleg (2016), Candy, Yale University Press (2017), Darrell & Patricia, Pier 24 Photography (2018) and Gene (2018).

Goldberg has exhibited widely, including shows at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; SFMOMA; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Corcoran Gallery of Art; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Yale University Art Gallery. His work is also regularly featured in group exhibitions around the world. Public collections including MoMA, SFMOMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Getty, the National Gallery, LACMA, MFA Boston, The High Museum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Library of Congress, MFA Houston, National Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Goldberg has received three National Endowment of the Arts Fellowships in Photography, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award, and the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, among many other honors and grants.

Goldberg is Professor Emeritus at the California College of the Arts. He is represented by Casemore Gallery in San Francisco. Goldberg joined Magnum Photos in 2002.