Untitled from the Rich and Poor Series

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Jim Goldberg began photographing residents of San Francisco's transient hotels in 1977. He asked his subjects to hand-write their own commentary, and then made prints that combined the images with the handwriting. After a year of shooting in the hotels, Goldberg decided to also photograph the wealthy in their homes using the same interactive process. The series, completed in 1985, yielded some unexpected results, and gives us a view of hope and desperation at both ends of the social spectrum. Rich and Poor attempts to explore the effect of environment and circumstance on the individual. Are the poor, or the rich, really different from you and me? Do we get what we "deserve" in life or is it all a game of chance?

Keywords

Documentary
Black and White
Poverty
Social Class
Gelatin Silver
Photography