From Library Journal
The Swiss-born Frank (who became an American citizen in 1963) is best known for his hugely influential The Americans, a book introduced by Jack Kerouac that documented the America he saw in the 1950s while on a Guggenheim Fellowship and that set a new standard for raw poetic realism in photography. Frank turned to film in the late Fifties firmly landing among the who's who of underground cinema and returned to still images in the Seventies, creating photographic constructions that often incorporate text, while continuing his film work. Much has been published by and about Frank, but this illuminating volume emphasizes his artistic process and presents an integrated nonchronological sampling from his oeuvre weighted toward his later experimental pieces. Consisting of film stills, prints, and photographic constructions, including some recent works completed since his last book (Flamingo: The Hasselblad Award 1996, Scalo, 1997), the current work offers revealing juxtapositions that make the seemingly disjointed arc of Frank's art cohesive. An interview and several highly informative essays are included, as is a short photo album that humanizes the artist for the reader and informs the personal context of his work. Filmic, multilayered, and narrative, Frank's art probes the edge and is charged with unabashed emotion the wide-ranging but highly characteristic output of this unconventional artist. This catalog, accompanying a European touring show that originated at the Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany, is highly recommended as an important addition to large art collections and an affordable introductory option for smaller libraries. Debora Miller, Minneapolis
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Ute Eskildsen is Chief Curator for Photography at Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany. She has curated many exhibitions and written numerous books. Ulrich Beilenhoff is a Professor of Film at the University of Bochum, Germany. Christopher Ribbat is Professor of American Studies at the University of Bochum, Germany.
Robert Frank has changed the history of art and photography with such ground-breaking projects as "The Americans, Lines of My Hand," "Thank you," "Black White and Things," "Pull My Daisy," and "Cocksucker Blues." He was the subject of a major traveling exhibition "Moving Out" organized by the National Gallery of Art in 1994. He divides his time between New York City and Nova Scotia.
"When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of poetry twice."
-Robert Frank