It’s all about Robert Frank…
And rightly so. Fifty years ago, in 1959, The Americans was released in the U.S.
The Met opens an exhibit: “Looking In – Robert Frank’s The Americans” on September 22 which runs through January 3, 2010. The staying power of The Americans supports the generally accepted theory that this book was revolutionary in more ways than one.
Parade – Hoboken, New Jersey, 1955 © Robert Frank
The image above is one of my favorites in the book, which is a ridiculous statement considering each of the images is permanently etched on my brain because they are all so perfectly powerful.
And considering how far photography has come in 50 years, it’s pretty easy to understand why this book was vilified when it was released. First, Frank was a foreigner/non-American who was commenting not altogether positively one might say, on the American way of life. Second, he was commenting, not altogether positively, on the American way of life. So daring to go where no other photographer had gone yet was courageous, but from what I’ve read about Frank, he did it because he wanted to take these pictures and make this book. Not the type of guy to care about fallout.
Trolley, New Orleans, 1955 © Robert Frank
“Trolley”, above, is one of the most iconic images in American photographic history. It makes me catch my breath to even think of these images not existing. The exhibit at The Met will include the contact sheets Frank used to create the book, a process that was all his from cover to cover.
In July, I went to a lecture by Jeff Rosenheim, Curator of Photographs at The Met, at Maine Media Workshops in Rockport. He talked about Frank and specifically this exhibit coming up. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see all 83 vintage images in one place, together with supporting materials. Why would anyone who cares about fine art photography miss this? There’s no good answer.
At the same time (October – December) Robert Mann Gallery has works by Frank on view. The works included are from The Americans, but also rounded out by “earlier works from London and Paris”.
The September/October issue of PHOTOGRAPH shows so many wonderful gallery shows of photography in these fall months, NYC is going to have to be a required pilgrimage for all of us sometime before Christmas. See you there.
