The Giants - Robert Frank

Robert Frank

Richard Avedon

The first time I noticed Robert Frank’s work was at the Tate Modern in London in November 2004. They were showing his most popular collection, The Americans. I was instantly drawn to his work as I had been living alone in Spain and the UK for two months for work and his photos made me yearn for home. The sense of home and America as a country, culture, brand, and essence are parts of the bond I feel for his exemplary photos. The most important connection I have to his work is the feeling of being “alone” or “lonely” in this very large country.

Robert Frank was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1924. He grew up in a wealthy Jewish household. During World War two, his family was safe in Switzerland, but the oppression and genocide brought by the Nazis influenced his future photography. Frank studied with various local photographers and designers before publishing his first handmade book, 40 Fotos, in 1946.

In 1947, Frank immigrated to the United States and lived in New York. He worked as a fashion photographer for Harpers Bazaar for a year. Frank decided to leave his job and travel around Peru, Bolivia, and Europe on and off for six years, photographing the everyday lives of the people he met.

During one of his return trips to New York in 1950, Frank met Edward Steichen and participated in his first major American exhibit, 51 American Photographers, at the Museum of Modern Art. During this time he married fellow artist, Mary Lockspeiser.

In 1953, he returned from his world travels and became disenchanted with the United States. He believed America was a lonely place with an over emphasis on capitalism that caste a dismal pall on the nation.

With the help of the famous photographer, Walker Evans, Frank received a Guggenheim grant to travel across America photographing the people of all economic and social levels and races. During this trip, he traveled over 10,000 miles and took over 28,000 photos from all over the country. Through all these photos, he selected 84 prints to be put into his book, The Americans.

After arranging an introduction to the book written by Beat writer, Jack Kerouac, Frank had difficulty finding an American publisher for his book. Many viewed his photos as “un-American” and “dangerous.” His book was published first in France and other countries, eventually being published in America.

Frank’s photos in The Americans capture the essence of American life in the mid 1950’s. He took images of whites, blacks, the wealthy, the poor, businessmen, day laborers, Puerto Rican transvestites, working class men and women, religious signs, and many other small bits that make up America. Frank’s beautifully crafted black and white prints have rich contrast and beautiful composition like the modernist photographers, yet the subject content is greatly different from the works of Strand, Adams, and Cunningham. He strived to capture the actual real-life moments, not the grandeur or sublime beauty of the subject.

As mentioned earlier, I feel a deep personal bond to Frank’s work in how he captured the American individual as being “alone” or “lonely.” Part of the American character is the independent individual living his or her own personal manifest destiny. I can relate to this characteristic of “alone.” As a photographer, I capture the images of what I see, yet do not have to be a part of. While many believe (including me) Americans are becoming too disassociated with each other and the world, I relish my alone time in life and identify closely with how Frank captured it in his photos. For me, they are comforting, not disconcerting. He shows how we can be alone in many different settings.

US 285, New Mexico
Robert Frank

The theme of loneliness and solitude is most obvious in the photo, US 285, New Mexico. The deep contrast and dark tones of the road leading into nothing matches the mood of emptiness of humanity captured in the photo. Many people feel lonely and depressed when confronted with these landscapes and concepts, I feel alive and refreshed in them. This photo captures an ideal setting for me to travel through. Sure, I want to see some people on the trip, but I am happy in the moment of being alone on the road. It is where I am completely free.

Los Angeles
Photo by Robert Frank

We can feel alone when we are in the city. The photo, Los Angeles, captures the solitude that big cities can push upon people. In this simple scene, a solitary guy is walking down a street in the direction a big arrow is pointing. This photo means so much to me because it shows not all people who are alone are aimless or without direction. We can get by on our own. Although, it could also be interpreted that in our solitude, we need mass direction from something greater than us or we will get lost.

Drug Store, Detroit
Photo by Robert Frank

We can even be alone when we are in groups. In the photo, Drug Store, Detroit, all the patrons are jammed together at that counter. They are sipping their orange whips and eating their food. A few spot the camera and are looking at it. None are really talking with their fellow patrons. Even in close proximity to other people, Americans can be alone and live in their own world. I often eat in restaurants alone when traveling for work and enjoy the solitude. I read a book, watch the other customers, and learn much about where I am from those simple moments.

Frank may have lamented the bleak loneliness that America was becoming. This isolation is part of our culture. When the east coast got too crowded, settlers moved west into the unknown. When the television came into our homes, families would gather around it for news, entertainment, and enjoyment rather than visit their neighbors.

Today, we spend more time on the Internet, commuting to and from work and family activities, and rushing to our next appointment compared to being part of the community we live in. We are a nation of unified loners. This can be bad for our nation since we isolate ourselves from the rest of humanity, but it is the reality of what our nation’s character has developed us to be. For better and for worse, Robert Frank captured this essential part of America’s identity in his photos.

Here is a link to more images from Robert Franks' The Americans.

NOTE - If you are in the Bay Area you can see Frank's exhibit, The Americans, at the SF Museum of Modern Art. They also have up great exhibits by Richard Avedon, and special show pairing Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams.