Looking In：Robert Frank's The Americans, Expanded Edition

FirstpublishedinFrancein1958,thenintheUnitedStatesin1959,RobertFrank'sTheAmericanschangedthecourseoftwentieth-centuryphotography.In83photographs,FranklookedbeneaththesurfaceofAmericanlifetorevealapeopleplaguedbyracism,ill-servedbytheirpoliticiansandrenderednumbbyarapidlyexpandingcultureofconsumption.Yethealsofoundnovelareasofbeautyinsimple,overlookedcornersofAmericanlife.Anditwasnotjusthissubjectmatter--cars,jukeboxesandeventheroaditself--thatredefinedtheiconsofAmerica;itwasalsohisseeminglyintuitive,immediate,off-kilterstyle,aswellashismethodofbrilliantlylinkinghisphotographstogetherthematically,conceptually,formallyandlinguistically,thatmadeTheAmericanssoinnovative.Moreofanodeorapoemthanaliteraldocument,thebookisaspowerfulandprovocativetodayasitwas50yearsago.PublishedtoaccompanyamajorexhibitionattheNationalGalleryofArt,theSanFranciscoMuseumofModernArtandtheMetropolitanMuseumofArt,LookingIn:RobertFrank's"TheAmericans"celebratesthefiftiethanniversaryofthisprescientbook.Drawingonnewlyexaminedarchivalsources,itprovidesafascinatingin-depthexaminationofthemakingofthephotographsandthebook'sconstruction,usingvintagecontactsheets,workprintsandlettersthatliterallychartFrank'sjourneyaroundthecountryonaGuggenheimgrantin1955-1956.CuratorandeditorSarahGreenoughandhercolleaguesalsoexploretherootsofTheAmericansinFrank'searlierbooks,whichareabundantlyillustratedhere,andinbooksbyphotographersWalkerEvans,BillBrandtandothers.The83originalphotographsfromTheAmericansarepresentedinsequenceinasnearvintageprintsaspossible.ThecatalogueconcludeswithanexaminationofFrank'slaterreinterpretationsanddeconstructionsofTheAmericans,bringingfullcirclethehistoryofthisresoundingentryintheannalsofphotography.ThisrichlyillustratedexpandededitionofLookingIn:RobertFrank's"TheAmericans"containsseveralengagingessaysbycuratorSarahGreenoughthatexploretherootsofthisseminalbook,Frank'stravelsonaGuggenheimfellowship,thesequencingofTheAmericansandthebook'simpactonhislatercareer.Inaddition,essaysbyAnneWilkesTucker,StuartAlexander,MartinGasser,JeffL.Rosenheim,MichelFrizotandLucSanteofferfocusedanalysesofFrank'srelationshipwithLouisFaurer,EdwardSteichen,GotthardSchuh,WalkerEvans,RobertDelpireandJackKerouac,whilePhilipBrookmanwritesabouthisworkwithFrankonseveralexhibitionsinthelast30years.ThiseditionalsoreproducesmanyofFrank'searlierphotographicsequences,aswellasallofthephotographsinTheAmericansandselectedlaterworks.Inaddition,LookingIn:RobertFrank's"TheAmericans"-ExpandedEditionincludesawealthofadditionalmaterials,essentialinformationforallinterestedintwentieth-centuryphotography.ItcontainsallofFrank'svintagecontactsheetsrelatedtoTheAmericans,asectionthatre-createshispreliminarysequenceandpresentsvariantcroppingsofthefirstandsubsequenteditionsofthebookandamapandchronology,alongwithlettersandmanuscriptmaterialsbyFrank,WalkerEvansandJackKerouacrelatedtoFrank'sGuggenheimfellowship,histravelsaroundtheUnitedStatesin1955-1956,andhisconstructionofthebook.Thisgroundbreaking528-pagecatalogueiscertaintobethedefinitivesourceofinformationonTheAmericansforyearstocome.