Robert Frank is someone who Gay told me to look into durning my last critique. He was born in Switzerland in 1924. His most popular work is "The Americans." The book was actually first published in France and showed post-war America. His works are of the American culture. Which I find interesting because he is not from America. He has an outside view of post-war America and the people who live there. I think that sometimes when you live somewhere you forget the beauty of it, and sometimes cannot see it when other people come into town and say how gorgeous everything is. For example, moved to Cullman about 7 years ago and I see nothing more than a town with nothing in it. However, when my roommate came to visit she told me how beautiful of a place it was. I just don't see it anymore since it's home. I think that the same applies to Robert Frank in this situation. America is new to him. So he sees the beauty of it still. These images are very "America Dream." They depict american flags, cowboys, soda shops, etc. Things that you think of to be "American." Things that you don't see much anymore, but were there and played a large part in our culture.
Your comments about the outsider perspective are right on the mark. Often we don't see what is right around us, because it becomes too familiar. I think our challenge as artists is to dare to see things freshly. This is what the Buddhists call beginner's mind -- being able to see things with all the freshness and open possibilities that one sees when experiencing something for the first time. It can be a neat exercise. I wonder what would happen if you attempted to photograph Cullman from the imagined perspective of your friend. Or if you pretended to just walk into town. Could you do it? Might be a fun challenge and perhaps enlightening.
ReplyDeleteRobert Frank did offer a perspective of America as an outsider. Many Americans found his work objectionable because it so clearly illuminated many of the contradictions, tensions and social problems that many had become numb to. Actually, his work was widely banned at first -- it basically threw egg in the face of the American dream / myth. It was a harsh criticism and a wake-up call. When looking at Frank, look for the ironies and contradictions -- they're all over the work.