THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF ROBERT FRANK | “THE AMERICANS” 50TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE
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"Rodeo-- New York City, 1954. By photographer Robert Frank.
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It was fifty years ago that Robert Frank released his iconic and historical work “The Americans”. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is honoring Frank by hosting “Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans, showcasing the photographic fruits of his cross-country journey from 1954-1955. In 1957, Frank casually showed his American photo essay to the young beat writer, Jack Keruoac, whom he met at a party in New York City. Kerouac was impressed and responded with– “Sure I can write something about these pictures,” and penned the introduction to the U.S. edition of The Americans. Robert Frank’s work is now widely considered an important, intimate peak inside small-town America, but originally it was not met with open arms by all– at the time of its release many of the images were considered controversial, while other critics just outright dismissed his work as a blurry mess of nothingness. Check it out for yourself at the Met from 9/22/09 – 1/3/10.
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"Indianapolis" from The Americans by photographer Robert Frank.
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From "The Americans" by Robert Frank.
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Trolley-- New Orleans, 1955 by photographer Robert Frank.
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Parade-- Hoboken, New Jersey, 1955 by Robert Frank.
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Nice to see Hoboken before the stripey-shirts took over.
I thought it was the black t-shirt and gold chain? I’m thinking Fri-Sat nights, but it’s been awhile so I may be out of touch.
Love your blog! So much that we have it as a link from our website! As a black man I am living for that Robert Frank pic of the brother on the bike! I’ve never seen anything like it and find it refreshing as you hardly ever see this side of African American culture recorded and it’s a subculture that still exists… Thanks for the post, JP!
Butch,
Thanks for the kind words, man. You’re right, that pic is incredible.
Best,
JP
The Americans is up right now at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles!!
I saw this in SF. Fantastic show. Frank has been a hero of mind for many years and it was so much fun seeing his contacts sheets and work prints. I was in there for several hours obsessing over everything.
I was lucky to catch this in SF while visiting from australia, and spent hours absorbed in his work. Amazing and inspirational.
Speaking of amazing… loving your blog.
Nice to know I’m not the only one that spent so much time in there…
Loved the show, and have loved Robert Frank’s work for many years. One of the highlights of graduate school was having him as a visiting artist. I loved reading the draft Guggenheim proposals and was surprised that some vintage prints were so large.