Robert Frank took photos of Americans, and for a Swiss man, he did a pretty good job at it. "The Americans" is a collection of 83 photographs that were a result of a behemoth roadtrip by Frank in the 1950s that spanned the States coast-to-coast. It's easy to assume what these photographs would say - the erudite European flees to the States and amuses himself with the naive optimism, opportunism and ostentatiousness of post WWII America. And yet it's hard to decide how Frank feels about his subjects - there is certainly a sense in which his photos are another critique of the usual suspect-isms (consumerism, capitalism, racism, nationalism.. the list goes on) but there is an undeniable affection towards them which pulls at your heart and invites you into the photo. You find yourself staring at these photos for an unusually long period of time, fuelled by some humanistic desire to peer into their lives of these people in an empathic rather than voyeuristic capacity. You wonder about the elevator operator and what thoughts have captured her in a suspended moment that supersedes the hubbub around her, or the humor and pathos of the dour diner waitress crowned by a ruddy-cheeked Santa.
You decide (realize?) you love Americans.
The lessons you learn as a photographer are important - the people and the situations are everyday, but Frank's framing transforms the mundane into the profound little existential moments usually reserved for philosophers and lovers- is there anything more that can be achieved by an artist?
No comments:
Post a Comment