书目

The Americans

内容简介

In1958,thefirsteditionofRobertFrank'sTheAmericanswaspublishedinParis.LesAmericainscontainedFrank's83photographsinthesamesequenceasallsubsequenteditions,withtheimageontherighthandpage,butjuxtaposedwithhistoricaltextsaboutAmericansocietyandpolitics,gatheredbyAlainBosquet.Thefollowingyear,inthefirstAmericanedition,theFrenchtextswereremovedandanintroductionbyJackKerouacwasadded.Overthesubsequent50years,TheAmericanshasbeenrepublishedinmanyeditions,innumerouslanguages,withavarietyofcoverdesigns,andeveninarangeofsizes.Itisthemostfamousphotographybookeverpublished,anditchangedthefaceofthemediumforever.RobertFrankdiscussedwithhispublisher,GerhardSteidl,theideaofproducinganeweditionusingmodernscanningandthefinesttritoneprinting.ThestartingpointwastobringoriginalprintsfromNewYorktoGottingen,Germany,whereSteidlisbased.InJuly2007,FrankvisitedGottingen.Anewformatforthebookwasworkedoutandnewtypographyselected.AnewcoverwasdesignedandFrankchosethebookcloth,foilforembossing,andtheendpaper.Mostsignificantly,ashehasdoneforeveryeditionofTheAmericans,Frankchangedthecroppingofmanyofthephotographs,usuallyincludingmoreinformation.Twoimageswerechangedcompletelyfromtheoriginal1958and1959editions.

作者简介

ArmedwithacameraandafreshcacheoffilmandbankrolledbyaGuggenheimFoundationgrant,RobertFrankcrisscrossedtheUnitedStatesduring1955and1956.Thephotographshebroughtbackformaportraitofthecountryatthetimeandhintatitsfuture.HesawthehopeofthefutureinthefacesofacoupleatcityhallinReno,Nevada,andthedespairofthepresentinagrimyroofscape.Hesawtheroilingracialtension,glamour,andbeauty,and,perhapsbecauseFrankhimselfwasontheroad,hewasparticularlyattunedtoAmericans'loveforcars.Funeral-goersleanagainstashinysedan,loverskissonabeachblanketinfrontoftheirparkedcar,youngboysperchinthebackseatatadrive-inmovie.AsportscarunderadropclothisframedbytwoCaliforniapalmtrees;onthenextpage,ablanketisdrapedoveracaraccidentvictim'sbodyinArizona.RobertFrank'sAmericansreappear40yearsaftertheywereinitiallypublishedinthisexquisitevolumebyScalo.Eachphotograph(therearemorethan80ofthem)standsaloneonapage,whilethecaptioninformationisincludedatthebackofthebook,allowingviewersanunfetteredlookattheimages.JackKerouac'soriginalintroduction,commissionedwhenthephotographershowedthewriterhisworkwhilesittingonasidewalkonenightoutsideofaparty,providestheonlyaccompanyingtext.Kerouac'swordsaddnarrativedimensiontoFrank'simagerywhileinturnthephotographsthemselvesperfectlyillustratethewriter'sownwork.

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