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The Americans
174 pages, 1986
arts & entertainment
401 books
history
999 booksIn this world, you will have many experiences. I have found that one of the most important things you can do while you are out in the world experiencing these different things is to take as many pictures as possible. There is no question that Robert Frank's The Americans is the most famous and influential photography book ever published. It was 1959 when the book first came out: a series of deceptively simple photographs that Frank took on a trip through America in 55 and 56, pictures of normal people, everyday scenes: lunch counters, bus depots, cars, and the strangely familiar faces of people we don't quite know but have seen somewhere. They were pictures taken from the window of a car in 1955 that saw the American way of life as we hadn't yet quite been able to see it ourselves.
Robert Frank's The Americans offers an unfiltered glimpse into the everyday life of Americans in the 1950s. It's a raw, honest look at the country's diverse population, from the rich to the poor, the young to the old. You'll see America in a new light after reading this book.
Frank's unique photographic style is a key feature of The Americans. He breaks away from traditional, polished photography to present images that are candid and sometimes even blurred. This style adds a sense of realism and immediacy to the scenes he captures.
The Americans is more than just a photo book. It's a powerful social commentary on the American society of the 1950s. Frank doesn't shy away from showing the racial and economic disparities that existed during this time. It's a thought-provoking book that will make you reflect on society and your place in it.
If you're interested in photography, you should definitely check out The Americans. Frank's work has had a profound influence on modern photography. His candid, unpolished style has inspired countless photographers and changed the way we think about and approach photography.
The Americans is a cultural snapshot of a specific time and place in American history. It's a fascinating exploration of the 1950s, a time of great change and upheaval in the country. Reading this book is like stepping into a time machine and experiencing the past firsthand.
Quotes 5
Robert Frank sucked a sad poem right out of America onto film, taking rank among the tragic poets of the world.
Jack Kerouac - Beat Generation AuthorThe Americans challenged the presiding mid-century formula for photojournalism. Frank's photographs were immediate, raw, and grainy.
Sean O'Hagan - Journalist, CriticThe Americans is one of the most influential photography books published, and it remains just as fresh today as it was when it first came out.
Martin Parr - Documentary PhotographerFrank revealed a people who were plagued by racism, ill-served by their politicians, and rendered numb by a rapidly expanding culture of consumption.
Sarah Greenough - Art HistorianRobert Frank's The Americans was a bombshell. It changed the nature of photography, what it could say and how it could say it.
Joel Meyerowitz - Street PhotographerRecommendations
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