Robert Frank is one of the few photographers whose contributions will continue to live in the annals of our history. A man who immigrated to the United States at the age of 23, during World War I, saw the country in varied shades and spectrums. But little did he know that the book he would create, The Americans, would leave such an indelible mark on country and photography. To celebrate Frank’s centennial anniversary, Aperture has released something special: a rare edition of the groundbreaking photo book.
The images within this article are by Aperture, used with permission.
Robert Frank And How His Work Breathes New Life
This is a lovely gesture on Aperture’s behalf. The Americans is one of the most influential photo books of all time, and to see a new printed version of it is nothing short of surprising. The year was 1968 when Aperture and Museum of Modern Art published an edition of the book by Robert Frank. The new book reportedly manages the Maine tritone prints, which were seen in the 2008 edition of the book, and in which the photographer himself was involved in the designing and production phase. The central edition retains the original introduction by Beat poet and Jack Kerouac, a novelist.
In addition, The Americans will feature a special slipcase, and only 1,500 copies of the book will be available from Aperture. What makes this even more remarkable is that the collectable also features a booklet created from Robert Frank’s films, something many are unaware of. This booklet was first seen in the 1968 and 1969 editions of The America, published by Aperture, and has now run out of print. The new centennial edition was made possible with the help of the June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation.
It’s even more excellent that the Museum of Modern Art already has an exhibition in his memory, Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue. Another exhibition, Robert Frank: Mary’s Book, will take place at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), in December. It will look at his work created for his wife, Mary Lockspeiser.
Why Is It Important To Revisit The Americans
At the time of its launch, The Americans were turned away for its artistic style, often called “grainy, blurry, muddy exposures, drunken horizons.” In fact, Popular Photography called Frank “a joyless man who hates the country of his adoption.” Why? Because at that time, photojournalism, particularly well-lit images with proper compositions, was the norm. However, many critics disliked at that point how a European Jew, with the help of the Guggenheim Fellowship, travelled more than 10,000 miles and took thousands of images portraying the raw, unfiltered side of postwar America. In Frank’s images, of which only 83 made it to the book, the aesthetic compositions revealed the geographic, economic, racial, and religious realities, one that many Americans continue to ignore.
With Donald Trump now elected a second time as president and the rift between “us and them” growing wider between diverse groups, Frank’s images remind us what we were and where we can go. The Americans, thus, is not only a phenomenal book for breaking barriers in photography but is also an authentic version of American society in the 1950s. It is an important archive that goes beyond the man who photographed it and showcases how we must challenge and change ourselves. Because if we don’t, we may as well be going back to shell where we came from.