Robert Frank

Book research:  Documentary Photography Time-Life Books..... Chapter 5 Critics of Complacency….. Robert Frank

 

Notes from the book:

·         Frank turned to professional photography when he was 18 and emmigrated to America 5 years later

·         he did a bit of fashion work at Harper’s bazaar

·         in 1995 he because the first European to win the Guggenheim in photography

·         he did a 10,000 mile road trip across America with his family documenting American life in a way that contradicted the American dream

·         made a book from his travel that contained 83 prints, book named ‘Americans’

·         book contained images that challenged the way we think the Americans lived

·         He and his work were seen as disrespectful and misleading by critics, was called a communist. But Walker Evans saw the value of his work.

·         Frank said he “saw something hidden and threatening” and that’s why he took the pictures the way he did

·         His book was eventually published in France in 1958 by a friend

·         After French editions were sold in the US the word spread and it was eventually produced by Grove Press in 1959.

·         His book ended up being regarded as the most famous photography essay ever produced by Creative Camera.

Evaluation of notes and book:

From looking at his work and reading the comments in the book, it easy to see why his work was so popular, yet controversial. The meaning behind each of his pictures provoked comment and controversy because they showed the reality in which Americans were living. My favourite picture by Robert Frank was the one that was taken in Charleston, South Carolina, 1955 where a black lady is holding a white baby. This picture shows the hypocrisy that was present at the time because black woman were allowed to hold white babies while the white people were busy, but white people wouldn’t allow black people to sit in the same section as them on a bus. Another one of my favourites is the picture of the Fourth of July celebration. I like it because the condition of the flag (patched and ripped) represenst the state of the country in the eyes of Frank.

 

Both of these scans were from: Documentary Photography Time-Life Books..... Chapter 5 Critics of Complacency….. Robert Frank...... pages 171 and 174

 

From this research I have learned that street photography is all about the message that it delivers and the impact it has. So in future I need to step back from a situation a try to understand what is really happening in that scene, so I can capture it in the most thought provoking way.