Drew Photo Carly: Robert Frank Essay

I chose the artist Robert Frank because his style of photography and the messages he wanted to convey are very interesting to me. Robert Frank’s style includes, still images and portraits of the culture and people of both America and post World War I culture. This paper will include Robert Frank’s style of photography, early life, who influenced him, how his photos have influenced society, and his later work.

Robert Frank’s style involves capturing how people feel in the moment. His portraits convey the reactions people in America were having in regards to America and the post war atmosphere. In his most famous collection, and book, The Americans, Robert Frank captures the mystery, guilt, sadness, and secrecy of the Americans. By catching these emotions, Robert Frank is displaying the different people that live in America, and what their true emotions are towards their country. Whether it is a photo of a cowboy wearing boots, a plaid shirt, cowboy hat, and large belt buckle, lighting a cigarette while leaning a against a trash can. Or of a man and woman standing in two different windows as an American flag blows in the wind covering the head of the woman. These two very different pictures show what Frank was trying to portray about American’s attitude towards America.

Robert Frank was born in Zurich, Switzerland on November 9, 1924. Born into a wealthy Jewish family, he lived in Switzerland with his mother, father, and two brothers. After the break out of World War II and the threat of Nazism, Frank found comfort in photography as a means of escaping. In 1947, he moved to New York City, where he secured a job as a fashion photographer for Harper’s Bazaar. However, he soon left to travel through South America and Europe. Upon his return in 1950, with a hand-made book, a collection of his photographs, he married Mary Lockspeiser. Together, they had tow children, Andrea and Pablo. After living in Paris for a brief time, Frank and his family returned to New York, where he started work on his next project, The Americans.[1]

Robert Frank became interested in photographing Americans and the American society. With the help of Walker Evans, his greatest influence, he was able to make this dream possible. Like Robert Frank, Walker Evans[2] captured photos of people’s responses to life changes. For example, he traveled to Cuba to take photos of people affected by a dictator. He then went back to America where he photographed the Great Depression. Evans’ photos are still images of men, women, young, and old dealing with the affects of the Depression. The most pronounced photo of this is of a woman sitting on a step to a building. She is staring off into space as a baby sleeps in her arms. Her two other children appear to be dead, but they are just sleeping, draped across the ground. No shoes and ripped clothing, the viewer can empathize with the woman and her pain, but also understand the hardships the Depression brought upon the Americans. Evan and Frank’s photos are very similar and style and their messages, it is very clear that Walker Evans had a huge influence on Robert Frank’s work.

Robert Frank’s most famous collection of photos and his most famous publication, The Americans was published in 1959. This collection of photographs has influenced America in that it offered another perspective on America. One that was much less wholesome and more confrontational.[3] Robert Frank started his journey in New York and traveled to Detroit and Dearborn Michigan, Savannah, Georgia, Miami Beach and St. Petersburg, Florida, New Orleans, Louisiana, Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, California, Reno, Nevada, Salt Lake City, Utah, Butte, Montana, and Chicago, Illinois. The places where Frank visited to capture his photographs are very unique in size, location, and occupants. This book captured the photographs of the poor factory workers, transvestites, and black passengers on a segregated trolley. Each of these photographs portrays the realities of America that we wish to hide. These photographs brought the sad realities of the American life to the public and made them very aware, causing controversy.

In Frank’s later years, he has developed a reputation as a recluse and a loner. He declines any invitation to be interviewed or make any public appearances. This is all due to the loss of his daughter Andrea Frank in a plane crash in 1974 and the hospitalization of his son Pablo Frank for schizophrenia. Pablo Frank died in 1994 in a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania. After losing both of his children, his photography reflected his feelings towards the loss of his children and the impact it had on him.[4] Frank’s still images became darker and had a murky cover to them. As seen on the cover of his book Flamingo Photography. Also, his subjects became more distant and complex.

Along with being a photographer, Robert Frank directed several films. In 1959, he directed the film Pull My Daisy. A year later, he filmed the movie Sin of Jesus. Finally, in 1972, Robert Frank travelled with the Rolling Stones as they were on tour. He shot them using drugs and engaging in group sex. After the film was complete, the Rolling Stones asked that the film not be shown to the public. Frank had captured what he wanted to through this film, the loneliness and despair of being on the road. [5]After a dispute between Frank and the Rolling Stones, it was decided that the film could only be shown five times a year and only in the presence of Frank. Frank quickly ended his film career and returned to photography.

In conclusion, Robert Frank is an influential photographer because he was able to capture the ugly truth about American society. He brought it to print and shared it with the public, much to their dismay. His still images capture true emotions and don’t fail to do so. In every photo, the viewer can see the pain in their eyes and truly understand what their views on America are.