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Pastimes : Digital Photography -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Uncle Frank who wrote (10441)	4/17/2005 9:44:43 AM
From: Done, gone.	Respond to of 21662

Robert Frank's artist statement from 1958: ________________________________________________________________________ I am grateful to the Guggenheim Foundation for their confidence and the provisions they made for me to work freely in my medium over a protracted period. When I applied for the Guggenheim Fellowship, I wrote: "To produce an authentic contemporary document, the visual impact should be such as will nullify explanation" With these photographs, I have attempted to show a cross-section of the American population. My effort was to express it simply and without confusion. The view is personal and, therefore, various facets of American life and society have been ignored. The photographs were taken during 1955 and 1956; for the most part in large cities such as Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and in many other places during my Journey across the country. My book, containing these photographs, will be published in Paris by Robert Delpire, 1958. I have been frequently accused of deliberately twisting subject matter to my point of view. Above all, I know that life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference. Opinion often consists of a kind of criticism. But criticism can come out of love. It is important to see what is invisible to others—perhaps the look of hope or the look of sadness. Also, it is always the instantaneous reaction to oneself that produces a photograph. My photographs are not planned or composed in advance and I do not anticipate that the on-looker will share my viewpoint. However, I feel that if my photograph leaves an image on his mind—something has been accomplished. It is a different state of affairs for me to be working on assignment for a magazine. It suggests to me the feeling of a hack writer or a commercial illustrator. Since I sense that my ideas, my mind and my eye are not creating the picture but that the editors' minds and eyes will finally determine which of my pictures will be reproduced to suit the magazines' purposes. I have a genuine distrust and "mefiance" toward all group activities. Mass production of uninspired photojournalism and photography without thought becomes anonymous merchandise. The air becomes infected with the "smell" of photography. If the photographer wants to be an artist, his thoughts cannot be developed overnight at the corner drugstore. I am not a pessimist, but looking at a contemporary picture magazine makes it difficult for me to speak about the advancement of photography, since photography today is accepted without question, and is also presumed to be understood by all—even children. I feel that only the integrity of the individual photographer can raise its level. The work of two contemporary photographers, Bill Brandt of England and the American, Walker Evans, have influenced me. When I first looked at Walker Evans' photographs, I thought of something Malraux wrote: "To transform destiny into awareness." One is embarrassed to want so much for oneself. But, how else are you going to justify your failure and your effort? ________________________________________________________________________ Amen! Written half a century ago but still has that new car smell. The book he spoke of is obviously "The Americans." m2.aol.com

To: Uncle Frank who wrote (10441)	4/17/2005 3:06:45 PM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 21662

Frank, Maybe the stars are arranged in some sort of scary alignment, but there's an interesting series of coincidences going on. One coincidence is that an acquaintance at last night's dinner party -- the one I mentioned when you called to gloat about your one-liner :) -- got really excited telling me that one of the photos in my living room is being featured as a 2-page spread in this weekend's Washington Post Magazine. Understand that I never buy that publication and would never have known about it had he not come over for dinner. A second coincidence is that a good friend of mine who comes over for dinner several times each year is the business manager of that magazine. The next time he comes over, I'll show him the magazine and ask if he ever remembers seeing the photo. When (if) he doesn't remember, it'll be a good ribbing that follows. :) A third coincidence is that you decided to mention a photography piece from any publication. I don't remember you ever doing that. And it just happens to be the same piece that serves as a connection between my casual acquaintance, my good friend and the only photograph Joellen and I own from the 19th century (1853). Considering the teensy weensy size of our collection -- only about a dozen photos, surely not more than 20 -- this series of coincidences is really remarkable. --Mike Buckley