Jewish Affairs - South African Jewish Board of Deputies

JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012DAVID GOLDBLATT:PHOTOGRAPHER EXTRAORDINAIRE*Frank StartzDavid Goldblatt has spent much of his life asa photographer recording and chronicling manyaspects of South African history as it unfolded,especially but not exclusively during the apartheidyears. His objectivity, honesty and passion as anobserver have been unswerving, his work hasattained major recognition in several countriesand, as the Appendix shows, has been recognisedvia numerous awards. Without doubt, he is one ofthis country’s accomplished and influential sons.Yet he remains humble and totally unaffected bythis mountainous public acclaim.I met with David earlier this year in order togain some personal and biographical insightpreparatory to writing this piece. I had known himfor many years but found that my knowledge ofhim was embarrassingly scant. I came away fromour discussions refreshed by both his candour andhis humility.Frank Startz is a Johannesburg-based artist,with a lengthy record in the field of Jewish civilrights activism. The interview with DavidGoldblatt featured in this article was conductedby him in May 2012.When I remarked that his professionalbiography might be too extensive to be includedin this article, he furnished me with the following,abridged version:I was born in Randfontein in 1930, the third sonof Eli and Olga Goldblatt who came to SouthAfrica as children with their parents to escapeconditions in Eastern Europe.After matriculating at Krugersdorp High in 1948,I attempted to become a magazine photographer,a field then almost unknown in South Africa. Ifailed and went to work for my father, who hadestablished a men’s outfitting store inRandfontein. While working in the shop, I tooka B Comm. degree at the University of theWitwatersrand and maintained my interest inphotography.My father died in 1962. I sold the business in1963 and decided to become a photographer.Gradually I built up a professional practice,mainly in the field of photo journalism,specialising in work outside the studiophotographing for magazines, corporations,advertising agencies and institutions.“Zulu women salvaging bricks for a white contractor from Indians’houses demolished under the Group Areas Act,Fietas, 3 June 1982” (David Goldblatt Fifty-One Years, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, 2001, p226)8