Robert Frank 1924-2019

Thanks for the link.

Importantly, Frank was born in Switzerland to a Swiss mother and German-Jewish father. The family remained in Switzerland for the duration of World War II and Robert emigrated to the U.S. in 1947 at age 23. The reason this is important is because his famed book, Les Américains, was published in Paris 10 years later. While we think of it as capturing an "essential" America, it comes through the international eye and experience of an immigrant to America.

HERE'S Jack Kerouac's introduction (first draft) to the book.

Thanks, guys, significant achievement and great stuff.

I was tired of romanticism. I wanted to present what I saw, pure and simple. —Robert Frank

“The kind of photography I did is gone. It’s old,” Frank told the Guardian in 2004. “There’s no point in it any more for me, and I get no satisfaction from trying to do it. There are too many pictures now. It’s overwhelming.”

There are things I was passionate about doing as a young person that I'm not passionate about anymore. I wonder if that was part of why he felt the way he did. Certainly things have changed radically when it comes to photography, but I think those kinds of subjects and stories are still out there.

There are things I was passionate about doing as a young person that I'm not passionate about anymore. I wonder if that was part of why he felt the way he did. Certainly things have changed radically when it comes to photography, but I think those kinds of subjects and stories are still out there.

I agree there's still room for this kind of photography. I don't know Frank well enough to know for sure what he was saying, but I'm thinking he may speaking for himself and might have still recognized when he said this that others could be inspired to take pictures like he did, though he wanted to and did move on.

So many good photographers and artists moved on from their earlier work. Consider Stieglitz, who led the way from Pictorialism to Modernism with a somewhat blistering rejection of what he once referred to as the stomach-turning aspects of Pictorialism. I actually think Stieglitz was probably more prescriptive than Frank in his rejection of his earlier work, since I got the impression Stieglitz felt photography itself needed to move beyond its early appearances whereas Frank's seemed to be a more personal evolution to new challenges.

Jeeeesus...what a loss.

Here are the proof sheets from The Americans in memory and honor of Frank. (If link is not appropriate to forum rules, then please remove.)

Robert Frank’s ‘The Rejected Americans’……You Choose!

Robert Frank’s ‘The Rejected Americans’……You Choose!

Do you know how these proof sheets came to be public? Did Frank at some point make them public and for a specific purpose?

I don't share the enthusiasm for "the americans' that seems to be pervasive. I have the book, bought it because it is lauded as being 'important' photographicly.

I have gone thru it more than once, (including looking at every page), and probably am done with it.

In short, I find it grim. The images are grim, in that I find no joy in what he sees and chooses to express.

My life is too short and precious to pander to that attitude.

Do you know how these proof sheets came to be public? Did Frank at some point make them public and for a specific purpose?

I'm sure he was good with it. They're from this book, which is well worth seeking out--it not only contains proof sheets from the project, it shows the various ways the photos were cropped over the years for different purposes: https://www.amazon.com/Looking-Robert-Franks-Americans-Expanded/dp/3865218067/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3SWJDA5NQKEQ4&keywords=looking+in+robert+frank%27s+the+americans&qid=1568164784&s=gateway&sprefix=looking+in+robert+%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1

I'm sure he was good with it. They're from this book, which is well worth seeking out--it not only contains proof sheets from the project, it shows the various ways the photos were cropped over the years for different purposes: https://www.amazon.com/Looking-Robert-Franks-Americans-Expanded/dp/3865218067/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3SWJDA5NQKEQ4&keywords=looking+in+robert+frank's+the+americans&qid=1568164784&s=gateway&sprefix=looking+in+robert+,aps,149&sr=8-1

Thanks!

The most crucial line in any poem is the last one.

Love & Fame & Death

it sits outside my window now

like and old woman going to market;

it sits and watches me,

it sweats nevously

through wire and fog and dog-bark

until suddenly

I slam the screen with a newspaper

like slapping at a fly

and you could hear the scream

over this plain city,

and then it left.

the way to end a poem

like this

is to become suddenly

quiet

Charles Bukowski

The images are grim, in that I find no joy in what he sees and chooses to express.

My life is too short and precious to pander to that attitude.

Wayne, while I certainly don't wish to fault or criticize your attitude but the sentiment expressed in these two sentences troubles me. I haven't seen "The Americans" in decades so have forgotten most of it. I've seen maybe a half dozen of the images in the past few days with the announcement of Frank's passing. I do recall that his book along with the work of Eisenstadt and the other Life Magazine and depression era photographers influenced me greatly as I came of age. Yes, one can in general, and with one word, describe his (and much work of these other photographers) photographs as 'grim' but they do portray an aspect of the day-to-day human condition. I don't experience 'joy' in looking at such work but I experience an inner prodding to reflect on the human condition. Also, while 'joy' may not be in strong visual evidence I sense a strength of character in many of the faces, in their dealing with the circumstances and situations in which they reside, that I admire and try to sympathize with. Perhaps it's imagined but pondering the human condition revealed in these sorts of photographs is more meaningful to me - and a better use of my short life - than gazing at images from the 'joy' I see in the smiling faces of folks posing for selfies and group shots in front of this or that monument or geologic wonder. And while I might find some momentary joy in looking a books of sunrise and sunset landscape photographs from Iceland, Tierra del Fuego, or Alaska I don't get nearly the same satisfaction that I do looking at Frank's and other similar sorts of works.

That's my quick 2 cents, and given my wonder and and amazement at the variety of humanity, I respect your 2 cents as well. I thank you for sharing it and prompting me to think more about it and to write out my muddled thoughts.

No One Saw America as Clearly as Robert Frank

Opinion | No One Saw America as Clearly as Robert Frank

Aren’t both necessary?

I don't know about necessary, but both can be appreciated, and they can be appreciated differently and to different degrees. I appreciate good landscape work, but don't get near as much out of it as I do other kinds of photography. I don't need chocolate or vanilla. I do enjoy them both, though, and I order chocolate a lot more often than vanilla.

Wayne, while I certainly don't wish to fault or criticize your attitude but the sentiment expressed in these two sentences troubles me. I haven't seen "The Americans" in decades so have forgotten most of it. I've seen maybe a half dozen of the images in the past few days with the announcement of Frank's passing. I do recall that his book along with the work of Eisenstadt and the other Life Magazine and depression era photographers influenced me greatly as I came of age. Yes, one can in general, and with one word, describe his (and much work of these other photographers) photographs as 'grim' but they do portray an aspect of the day-to-day human condition. I don't experience 'joy' in looking at such work but I experience an inner prodding to reflect on the human condition. Also, while 'joy' may not be in strong visual evidence I sense a strength of character in many of the faces, in their dealing with the circumstances and situations in which they reside, that I admire and try to sympathize with. Perhaps it's imagined but pondering the human condition revealed in these sorts of photographs is more meaningful to me - and a better use of my short life - than gazing at images from the 'joy' I see in the smiling faces of folks posing for selfies and group shots in front of this or that monument or geologic wonder. And while I might find some momentary joy in looking a books of sunrise and sunset landscape photographs from Iceland, Tierra del Fuego, or Alaska I don't get nearly the same satisfaction that I do looking at Frank's and other similar sorts of works.

 

That's my quick 2 cents, and given my wonder and and amazement at the variety of humanity, I respect your 2 cents as well. I thank you for sharing it and prompting me to think more about it and to write out my muddled thoughts.

Portrayal of 'grimness' I agree is a valid thing, and he did it well. Obsession with it to the exclusion of all else is IMO, a reflection of (looking back thru the lens) , a "bitterness" (for lack of a better word) that is definitive of the shooter, and negativity. I do acknowledge the strength of determined coping, and maybe rethinking with that in mind will open my thoughts. Thank you.

I just looked through the first half of my copy of "The Americans." My opinion hasn't changed. There aren't many photos that say unmistakably "America." They could have been taken anywhere!

One photo that strikes me particularly was taken in New Orleans (I live right next door in Metairie, LA) that shows a crowd of people walking on Canal Street, the major thoroughfare. The background is almost black, and there is NOTHING in the photo that says "New Orleans," much less America.

I really have no idea what made Frank title the book, "The Americans."

there is NOTHING in the photo that says "New Orleans," much less America.

 

I really have no idea what made Frank title the book, "The Americans."

Maybe he gave it that title precisely because, as you observe, he thought that without it the reader/viewer would have no idea where the images came from. In any case, given the photos were all taken within the US of A, to title it "The Americans", while certainly an over-generalization, is not unreasonable.

My opinion hasn't changed. There aren't many photos that say unmistakably "America." They could have been taken anywhere!

I happen to disagree with this but also think it’s relatively inconsequential. It’s not as much in each individual that I find “America,” though I do in many. It’s in the whole. So that even the ones that individually don’t say “America” do it in context. Each becomes part of the fabric and they all play off each other, so the ones that don’t specifically say “America” shouldn’t be discounted since they still add to the weave.

More important would be, do they say something of significance to you other than “America” and, if so, can you get past the title and appreciate what they do show you instead of what they don’t?

Like no other photography book i have ever owned......It's funny how this book still strikes a nerve with a certain percentage of the population.

It always seems to be the same Complaint/Anger, over and over again.

I just looked through the first half of my copy of "The Americans." My opinion hasn't changed. There aren't many photos that say unmistakably "America." They could have been taken anywhere!

 

One photo that strikes me particularly was taken in New Orleans (I live right next door in Metairie, LA) that shows a crowd of people walking on Canal Street, the major thoroughfare. The background is almost black, and there is NOTHING in the photo that says "New Orleans," much less America.

 

I really have no idea what made Frank title the book, "The Americans."

It really is no big mystery...... he got a Guggenheim, to travel the USA and take pictures of......You guessed it, "Americans".

And that is exactly what he did.

Hence the title of the book. :)

Certain images strike certain nerves.

People got lots of nerves and images...

There is nothing wrong or unartistic with a nice dramatic shot of a sunrise on a lake in the fog.

Nothing wrong inherently, but there can be plenty wrong and unartistic with individual examples of it. Same with street work. Discernment can still play a role, as your post shows.

I think Frank would probably understand and get an ironic kick out of the fact that his title, The Americans, is causing such difficulty and consternation among some American photographers reacting to his photos. His photos so well capture this very feature of the American spirit.