Robert Frank books and films1947-2018
An experimental exhibition shows the work of the great artist on newsprint
Göttingen/Marfa, November 2018. -- Robert Frank (b. 1924, Zurich) is considered the inventor of street photography. With his method of sequencing and composing pictures in intuitive series beyond the traditional photographic essay, he has developed new forms of expression within the medium of photography.
Despite Frank’s significant influence on photographers of his own and subsequent generations, there are only few exhibitions of his work. This traveling exhibition to be chiefly shown at universities and schools seeks to remedy that. Frank’s original silver gelatin prints are today fragile objects, and most are not on public display. Galleries, museums and investors lend Frank originals only under limited conditions of display with exorbitant insurance costs, which makes organizing traditional exhibitions very difficult.
Conceived by Robert Frank and Gerhard Steidl, this exhibition shows Frank’s work in photos, books and films in a direct accessible manner. His images are printed on sheets of newsprint and hung directly on the walls. A selection of Frank’s films and videos, which are so often overshadowed by his photographic work are shown on small portable »beamers«, projecting them onto the walls.
Each exhibition is to be disposed of after display, thus circumventing the normal cycle of speculation and consumption in the art market. When the idea for this pop-up show first reached Frank at his home in the Canadian village of Mabou, he said: »Cheap, quick, and dirty, that’s how I like it!«
In Marfa, Texas, the exhibition will be on view at Eugene Binder and is co-presented by the Marfa Book Co.
The unconventional catalogue for the exhibition is a special edition of the renowned German daily newspaper the Süddeutsche Zeitung – following its original design and format, and printed on recycled newsprint.
The exhibition in Marfa is made possible by the generous support of the Richard Ehrlich Family Foundation, the Steve Tisch Fund, the Kinsman Foundation, Arlene Schnitzer and Jordan Schnitzer, and the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation.