It’s kind of rare when a big museum decides to give a lot of precedence to photography. But the MoMA in NYC has consistently impressed me with what they’ve tried to do. Not only do the fully acknowledge it as art, but they actively try to help people understand why these photographers made the work they do and why it’s different from snapshots. Of course, it has to do with intent and creative expression. That deep sense of respect is what I get of the new Robert Frank exhibit that they’re hosting. But more importantly, it’s an eye-opening and educational one for anyone that doesn’t know much about Frank beyond the Americans.
Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue can be seen at the MoMA from September 15th, 2024 until January 11th, 2025.
I went to the exhibit at first, hoping that I’d get a glimpse of the rare and incredible book he did. While it surely does have a few books on display, they’re all behind glass, and visitors won’t be able to interact with them. If you ever have a chance to be graced by the presence of The Americans you should really take it in. It’s a very rare book and contains one of the best photo projects made.
Speaking with other journalists at the press preview, a few of us appreciated the fact that there are so few reflections on the prints. That makes it otherwise difficult to see them. It’s something that I wish other museums would consider. However, the lighting is a bit dimmer than I’d like it to be. This means that if you’re a bit more visually impaired the way I am, you have to get closer to the photos than normal. The same practice will apply to reading the text on the walls.
The MoMA does things that I haven’t seen in years at a photography exhibit — projections on silk screens that look like they’re floating in space. It’s a completely different way of being bedazzled by a photograph that’s also arguably more intriguing than looking at vintage prints. On these screens you’ll see both photos and video footage that Frank shot.
Folks who love street photography and documentary photography will like specific parts of the exhibit. For example, there’s a section where he photographed people passing by — a tactic used by photographers like Jonathan Higbee and others called the photo-wait.
If you’re going into this exhibit expecting documentary-style work, you’ll only really have that for a bit. The rest feels very artsy, trippy, experimental, and in touch with emotions. In fact, there’s a section where Robert Frank channeled deep grief for the death of his earth daughter. This work is fascinating once you read the text to understand where he comes from.
Most of the exhibit is in black and white until you get to some of the paintings and Polaroids. The images have a silent beauty to them that can’t be made very simply today and that I don’t expect most people to understand because of social media. Instead this work needs to be experienced in person. I encourage no use of phones while checking out this exhibit so that you can be encompassed by another media form.
And yes, there’s some more experimental stuff that I think is kind of trippy. This, in particular, is where I feel photography as an art form needs to go. In fact, I generally think that this is where art needs to go. To co-exist with generative AI and the lack of imagination that so many prompters will give, we have to either get very good at sales or become very in touch with our feelings. Essentially, we need to get weird. By getting weirder, we have conversations with our deeper selves and then find a way to translate that into effective photography. Only then will the language be clearly legible to those who don’t think of it as an art form. As a member publication of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative, this is something that deeply concerns me.
The quotes from Robert Frank surely feel like they’re from a much different time. Today, they would seem very romantic, antiquated, and only possible to say with lots of privilege. At the same time, Mr. Frank surely understood that he needed to channel feelings into his work — which is something so many men have repressed over the years. I can’t help but have a lot of respect for that.
When I say that I didn’t expect to see much of this work from Robert Frank, I truly mean that. At the same time, I’ve never done a lot of research or studied into him beyond the Americans. In fact, there’s quite a bit of extra buzz going around this photographer.