Looking In: Robert Frank's "The Americans"

Robert Frank's The Americans (first published in France in 1958 and in the United States in 1959) is widely celebrated as the most important photography book to appear since World War II. Featuring 83 photographs made largely in 1955 and 1956 while Frank traveled the United States, the project looked beneath the surface of American life to reveal a profound sense of alienation, angst, and loneliness. Frank's prescient photographs redefined the icons of America, demonstrating that cars, jukeboxes, gas stations, diners, and even the road itself were telling symbols of contemporary life. Frank's style — distinguished by seemingly loose, casual compositions, often with rough, blurred, out-of-focus foregrounds and tilted horizons — was just as controversial and influential as his subject matter. The exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the publication by presenting all 83 photographs in the order established by the book, accompanied by a detailed examination of the project, its relationship to Frank's earlier work, and its impact on his later art. SFMOMA