David Goldblatt: Particulars

Following a series of portraits of his compatriots made at the beginning of the 1970s, photographer David Goldblatt, for a very short and intense period of time, turned to focusing on peoples' particulars and individual body languages. Goldblatt's affinity was no accident: working at his father's men's outfitting store in the 1950s, his awareness of posture, gesture and proportion as it was formed early and would accompany him throughout his life. In this series tere are images of people's hands resting on laps, crossed legs, the curved backs of sleepers on a lawn at midday. This work is framed by Ingrid de Kok's poetry. The photographs in Particulars were taken beginning in 1975, and the first edition of the book was published by Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, in 2003. Goldblatt has revised Particulars for this Steidl edition.