Open See is the first part of a vast project by Jim Goldberg, documenting the exodus of refugees, immigrants and victims of human trafficking coming from countries ravaged by war and economic crises to remake their lives in Europe. Since 2003, Jim Goldberg has made photographs, films and Polaroids annotated by the subjects who tell the tales of their journeys, gathering manuscripts, notes, ephemera and recording their stories. These individuals are the victims of crises, in Europe and throughout the world--economic refugees from poverty-stricken regions, forced laborers, kidnapped sex slaves or persons duped by financial mirages. Many of them have left communities devastated by AIDS or totalitarian regimes, in the hope of more security and prosperity in Europe. Beginning in 2003 in Greece, as part of a Magnum Cultural Commission, Goldberg has photographed these populations and their distress. He became interested in the countries of origin of these migrants (and their living conditions there): countries such as Ukraine, India, Bangladesh, Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania and Democratic Republic of Congo. More generally, the work looks at the problems of globalization and addresses questions of racism and cultural persecution. Despite these sad realities, these individuals endure, and their stories are full of hope and heroism.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quite Impressive, But Background Information For At Least Some Photos Would Have Been Nice
January 27, 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In a survey of photography book experts by the Photo-Eye bookstore, many respondents named this one of the best photobooks of 2009 (behind Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans, Expanded Edition and Greater Atlanta by Mark Steinmetz). So, having been impressed by Goldberg's earlier books Rich and Poor (1985) and Raised by Wolves (1995), I decided to take a look at Open See.
It consists of a set of four paperback books in a cardboard sleeve. All the books are 8.5 inches high and 10 inches wide. All are crammed with photos related to refugees, immigrants, and human trafficking. The photos vary in size and technique (e.g., in book 1 there is a two-page spread with 42 black-and-white and color "snapshots" each about 2"x1.5", but another two-page spread has a single 8.5"x20" color photo probably shot with a professional camera on a tripod). Some of the photos have handwriting on them by the subjects of the photos. Here's a brief description of each book:
-Book 1 has 36 pages. Its cover has a red felt-tip pen "X" at the upper right of a photo of a tunnel for vehicles. The people depicted inside are white (based on the acknowledgments in Book 4, they were in the Ukraine). Most of the handwriting is in Cyrillic script, except for "MY LIFE IS SICK BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY DID TO ME." The book ends with three black pages. The high-contrast black-and-white back cover shows the relatively sharp undersides of four birds in flight in the distance.
-Book 2 has 36 pages. Its cover has red felt-tip pen arrows on photo of low plants in the ground. The people depicted inside are from the Indian subcontinent (based on the acknowledgments in Book 4, they were in Bangladesh and India). Most of the handwriting is in various scripts, except for "I MAKE 68 TAKAS ($1) A DAY AND HAVE DESPAIR," "WE HAVE ONLY SEEN FATHER ONCE IN LIFE" and "MY DREAM IS TO GO TO EUROPE." The book ends with three black pages, and its back cover is similar to Book 1's.
-Book 3 has 36 pages. Its cover has red felt-tip pen "corners" on a grainy backlit photo of a group of men. The people depicted inside are African. The handwriting appears to be in several languages; the English handwriting includes "THE WAR CAME AND THE REBELS MASSACRED MY WHOLE VILLAGE AND MY FAMILY...," "...ALL I WANT NOW IS FOOD AND A BED TO SLEEP IN...," and "I WAS REBEL IN WAR." The book ends with three black pages, and its back cover is similar to Book 1's.
-Book 4 has 136 pages. On its cover is a blue felt-tip pen circle around a hand holding an identity card. Based on the acknowledgments at the end of the book, the photos in this book were taken in Greece. The nationalities of the people depicted inside are numerous; the handwriting is in English, Arabic script, Chinese, Turkish, etc. Toward the end of the book are two stories in English and French about immigrants to Italy: a woman from Nigeria who became a prostitute to help her family, and a man from Morocco imprisoned for drug trafficking. The last three pages include acknowledgments, information on Goldberg's grant for the "New Europeans" project from the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, and copyright information. The back cover has shades of brown in addition to black and white, and shows relatively close-up and blurred undersides of three birds in flight, with black felt tip pen "filling in" one wing on each of two birds.
I found the work quite impressive. To comment on an August 20, 2009, review here, it is a good (not bad) thing that the "overall effect" is "jarring"; if not, the book would be unmemorable. To comment on a phrase in a negative review of the "Open See" exhibition on another site, I do not find any part of the book "certainly patronising and possibly exploitative." Instead, Goldberg has painted a sympathetic picture of the aspirations of and difficulties faced by his subjects.
My only criticism is that there should have been a "Book 5" or Web page with background information on at least some of the photos. I can understand Goldberg's not providing translations of all the handwritten non-English text (so as to add to the "jarring" effect), but many of the photos without handwriting cry out for explanation. For example, toward the middle of book 3 is a two-page spread showing a man with a radio sitting on an embankment in front of about 75 huts, with vegetation, some houses, hills, and clouds in the distance. For me, the image becomes more powerful when accompanied by the following text by Goldberg at The Guardian's site: "I took this picture... in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ... This man is sitting on a rock overlooking the camp... if you looked in the direction he is looking, you would see the other 90,000 people living there. ... He hugged his radio as if it were a child - it was the only thing he took when he left his village. These are people who have been caught in the crossfire of civil war for 18 years. ... Just out of sight, on the left, that's where the rebels are. A week or two later, they moved all 90,000 people, and this place no longer exists." People who wish to appreciate the photos as "pure" art could simply ignore the hypothetical "Book 5" or Web page with background info.
Buy this from Amazon.com!
It consists of a set of four paperback books in a cardboard sleeve. All the books are 8.5 inches high and 10 inches wide. All are crammed with photos related to refugees, immigrants, and human trafficking. The photos vary in size and technique (e.g., in book 1 there is a two-page spread with 42 black-and-white and color "snapshots" each about 2"x1.5", but another two-page spread has a single 8.5"x20" color photo probably shot with a professional camera on a tripod). Some of the photos have handwriting on them by the subjects of the photos. Here's a brief description of each book:
-Book 1 has 36 pages. Its cover has a red felt-tip pen "X" at the upper right of a photo of a tunnel for vehicles. The people depicted inside are white (based on the acknowledgments in Book 4, they were in the Ukraine). Most of the handwriting is in Cyrillic script, except for "MY LIFE IS SICK BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY DID TO ME." The book ends with three black pages. The high-contrast black-and-white back cover shows the relatively sharp undersides of four birds in flight in the distance.
-Book 2 has 36 pages. Its cover has red felt-tip pen arrows on photo of low plants in the ground. The people depicted inside are from the Indian subcontinent (based on the acknowledgments in Book 4, they were in Bangladesh and India). Most of the handwriting is in various scripts, except for "I MAKE 68 TAKAS ($1) A DAY AND HAVE DESPAIR," "WE HAVE ONLY SEEN FATHER ONCE IN LIFE" and "MY DREAM IS TO GO TO EUROPE." The book ends with three black pages, and its back cover is similar to Book 1's.
-Book 3 has 36 pages. Its cover has red felt-tip pen "corners" on a grainy backlit photo of a group of men. The people depicted inside are African. The handwriting appears to be in several languages; the English handwriting includes "THE WAR CAME AND THE REBELS MASSACRED MY WHOLE VILLAGE AND MY FAMILY...," "...ALL I WANT NOW IS FOOD AND A BED TO SLEEP IN...," and "I WAS REBEL IN WAR." The book ends with three black pages, and its back cover is similar to Book 1's.
-Book 4 has 136 pages. On its cover is a blue felt-tip pen circle around a hand holding an identity card. Based on the acknowledgments at the end of the book, the photos in this book were taken in Greece. The nationalities of the people depicted inside are numerous; the handwriting is in English, Arabic script, Chinese, Turkish, etc. Toward the end of the book are two stories in English and French about immigrants to Italy: a woman from Nigeria who became a prostitute to help her family, and a man from Morocco imprisoned for drug trafficking. The last three pages include acknowledgments, information on Goldberg's grant for the "New Europeans" project from the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, and copyright information. The back cover has shades of brown in addition to black and white, and shows relatively close-up and blurred undersides of three birds in flight, with black felt tip pen "filling in" one wing on each of two birds.
I found the work quite impressive. To comment on an August 20, 2009, review here, it is a good (not bad) thing that the "overall effect" is "jarring"; if not, the book would be unmemorable. To comment on a phrase in a negative review of the "Open See" exhibition on another site, I do not find any part of the book "certainly patronising and possibly exploitative." Instead, Goldberg has painted a sympathetic picture of the aspirations of and difficulties faced by his subjects.
My only criticism is that there should have been a "Book 5" or Web page with background information on at least some of the photos. I can understand Goldberg's not providing translations of all the handwritten non-English text (so as to add to the "jarring" effect), but many of the photos without handwriting cry out for explanation. For example, toward the middle of book 3 is a two-page spread showing a man with a radio sitting on an embankment in front of about 75 huts, with vegetation, some houses, hills, and clouds in the distance. For me, the image becomes more powerful when accompanied by the following text by Goldberg at The Guardian's site: "I took this picture... in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ... This man is sitting on a rock overlooking the camp... if you looked in the direction he is looking, you would see the other 90,000 people living there. ... He hugged his radio as if it were a child - it was the only thing he took when he left his village. These are people who have been caught in the crossfire of civil war for 18 years. ... Just out of sight, on the left, that's where the rebels are. A week or two later, they moved all 90,000 people, and this place no longer exists." People who wish to appreciate the photos as "pure" art could simply ignore the hypothetical "Book 5" or Web page with background info.
Buy this from Amazon.com!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Mrs. Mustard
Format:Paperback
Out of a glittering sea walks a man and his goat ... and so begins the highly emotive photographic journey of Jim Goldberg as he moves through Europe, Africa, Eastern Europe and South Asia in his latest spellbinding book, Open See.
Proceeding with turbulence, we encounter the dispossessed revealing their souls; writing on photos in languages and script both enigmatic and intriguing, facing us, telling of a world dark yet not so distant. Victims of hardscrabble economies, human cruelty, war, migration, disease, disdain and kismet, they allow us to come close, beckon us with their stories. The gravity of the photos pulls us in.
Goldberg's art and profoundly humane photographs examine human endurance, nomadic flight, hope, dreams and courage. His subjects have a voice and are heard. With its hauntingly beautiful landscapes, unusual design and uniquely embellished portraits, OPEN SEE is daring and visionary.
Proceeding with turbulence, we encounter the dispossessed revealing their souls; writing on photos in languages and script both enigmatic and intriguing, facing us, telling of a world dark yet not so distant. Victims of hardscrabble economies, human cruelty, war, migration, disease, disdain and kismet, they allow us to come close, beckon us with their stories. The gravity of the photos pulls us in.
Goldberg's art and profoundly humane photographs examine human endurance, nomadic flight, hope, dreams and courage. His subjects have a voice and are heard. With its hauntingly beautiful landscapes, unusual design and uniquely embellished portraits, OPEN SEE is daring and visionary.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By mvjim
Format:Paperback
Adds a new level of understanding to documentary photography. Its a deeply felt and truthful look into this world. Design and layout are exceptional and only enhance the story.
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