David Goldblatt (South Africa 1930-2018) Synagogue. Mayfair, Johannesburg, Transvaal. 25 December 1984 ,1984
Provenance : Provenance: Private collection, Cape Town.
Exhibited :
Literature : Goldblatt, D. (2008). ‘Intersections Intersected’, Porto: Serralves Museum, illustrated on p.86. Goldblatt, D. (1998). ‘South Africa: The Structure of Things Then’, New York: The Monacelli Press, illustrated on p.113
Notes : It is perhaps obvious, but no less remarkable being so, that while Orthodox Jewish liturgy has remained almost unchanged for centuries and in different parts of the world, there is no distinctly Judaic architecture of synagogues. Jews had adapted to their needs the architecture of the communities in which they have settled or from which they have recently come. Johannesburg's older synagogues clearly had their roots in the ghettos of Eastern Europe. This one, in Mayfair, seems to have no precedent. Unless, possibly, it attempted in its three gables a 'budget' evocation of the three predicaments that distinguished its congregation's 'mother' synagogue in the neighboring suburb of Fordsburg. After the Second World War, the Mayfair synagogue gradually declined as, with greater affluence, members moved northwards to Greenside and Emmarentia. By the early 1980s, the synagogue was opened about once a year for the celebration of the New Year by hardly a dozen congregants. It was sold in 1988. For a time the building was used as a Hindu temple and in 1998 it was revamped as a mosque. – David Goldblatt Goldblatt, D., Loock, U. & Powell, I. (2008). Intersections Intersected. Porto: Civilização Editoria, p. 86. COLLECTIONS The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably: MoMA, New York, USA.; Tate Modern, London, UK.; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France.; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France.; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France; The French National Art Collection, France.; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.; The Art Gallery of Western Australia.; Huis Marseilles, Amsterdam, Netherlands.; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands.; Fotomuseum, Winterthur, Switzerland.; Hasselblad Collection, Sweden.; Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany.; Art Collection Deutsche Borse, Frankfurt, Germany.; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, USA.; Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria.; Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA.; National Gallery of Canada.; Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA.; Art Institute, Chicago, USA., Iziko, South African National Gallery, Cape Town.; Durban Art Gallery.; Johannesburg Art Gallery.; University of South Africa, Pretoria.; University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.; University of Cape Town.
Condition_report : The overall condition is good.
