It was with great sadness that I heard of the death of Robert Frank (See: Robert Frank, revolutionary American photographer, dies aged 94). For some time I didn’t really “get” his photographs. However, after reading the book “American Witness. The Art and Life of Robert Frank” I’ve since warmed to his work even if I still can’t quite understand why he’s so high in the pantheon of great photographers – particularly since his reputation is based almost entirely on one work: “The Americans”.
No-one can doubt his significance, however.
As the obituary states:
The Swiss-born photographer’s seminal book The Americans, which had an introduction from Jack Kerouac, beat generation author of On the Road, helped to change the direction of photography with its 83 pictures rejecting many conventions of the art form up to that point.
The Swiss-born photographer’s seminal book The Americans, which had an introduction from Jack Kerouac, beat generation author of On the Road, helped to change the direction of photography with its 83 pictures rejecting many conventions of the art form up to that point.
Shot on a Leica 35mm camera, the black-and-white images are considered Frank’s masterwork and focused on figures from the overlooked margins of American life – from teenage couples and factory workers to bikers. Dubbed the “Manet of the new photography” by the New Yorker critic Janet Malcolm, Frank was considered the father of “the snapshot aesthetic”, which captures a spontaneous moment taken on the fly.
I love the quote in the final paragraph of the obituary:
“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.”
