Robert Frank

Documentary photography can never be separated from the action of the photographer, the more so if those being photographed know that they are being photographed. Inevitably there is an interaction. This is clearly shown to be the case in Robert Frank’s work. For example, in ‘14th Street White Tower’ (1948) five women are in eye contact with the photographer. The photograph questions what we are to make of their reaction. Are the women thinking what right does the photographer have in taking the photo? Are they concerned about their appearance? Has it paralysed their conversation? Have they become more on guard or trying to escape the gaze of the photographer. Robert Frank had arrive in New York in 1947 at the age of 23. He had been brought up in Zurich. 

Robert Frank was immediately struck by the freedom to be what you want in America but was also perturbed by the focus on making money. In his photography he was influenced by the work of Bill Brandt and Andre Kertez. Their influence can clearly be seen in his photobook ‘The Americans’ (1958).  This was a book that polarised opinion. It was a vision of America that many Americans just simply ignored.Its rough technical approach depicted many moods,some happy but predominantly pessimistic and downbeat. Juke boxes, coffins, and shrouds were featured as were other objects that resembled them. In 1948, Frank spent two years in South America and images from this trip were published in two books. In his books Robert Frank was careful to pair photos as Bill Brandt had done in ‘The English at Home’ and ‘A night in London’. Robert Frank met Elliott Erwitt on a boat to Europe and on a trip to London in the winter of 1952-53 he met Bill Brandt. He travelled widely and his photographs often give the feeling of a transitory passing through and fragmented picture of contemporary society. This was in part a weakness and yet also a strength in his photography.