Awakening the eye : Robert Frank's American cinema /

Robert Frank (b. 1924) is best known for his book of photography The Americans (1958), but his work in the past half century has spanned photography, film, and video made for television. Looking at how these media forms loop back into one another, Kouvaros (Univ. of New South Wales, Australia) explores "a space where the fluctuations of experience and memory leave their trace." He provides detailed analysis of Frank's work with members of the Beat generation in Pull My Daisy (1959) and Me and My Brother (1969), and in his more autobiographical work, e.g., Conversations in Vermont (1969) and Life Dances On (1980). Drawing on film theory and literary studies, Kouvaros illuminates the way Frank's work explores writing, loss, and the passage of time. He also does a good job of situating Frank's filmmaking within the avant-garde cinema of Jonas Mekas, Hollis Frampton, Shirley Clarke, and others. This book is a must read for those interested in Frank or avant-garde cinema. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Shayne Pepper, Northeastern Illinois University