Robert Frank /

Robert Frank forever changed the art of photography and our visual lexicon with his epoch-defining book, The Americans. A set of gritty, haphazard, and intuitive photographs documenting America circa 1955, it brought Frank fame from which he promptly fled. Frank abandoned the hype and hubris of New York City for the privacy and primacy of Nova Scotia, the stasis of photography for the motion of movies. He also moved away from the overtly cultural and political perspective of his on-the-road photographs to more autobiographical themes, although, at every phase, he's been a chronicler of introspection and emotional tension. This focus emerges when Frank's work is seen in its entirety, which has just become possible with the opening of a retrospective exhibition and publication of this comprehensive and handsomely produced companion volume. Beginning with Frank's earliest photographs, taken in his native Switzerland, Moving Out traces his quest for freedom of vision and spontaneity of expression. While five excellent essays analyze various aspects of Frank's photographs, films, and videos, Frank himself emerges from these pages--restless, ornery, uncompromising, mournful (many later works express grief over the death of his daughter), and sentient. ~--Donna Seaman

This publication is the first broad survey of Frank, unanimously regarded as one of the most important postwar photographers. Compiled with the assistance of the artist himself, it features selections from his earlier well-known books (The Americans, The Lines of My Hand), lesser-known film stills, and recent, previously unpublished black-and-white and color composites. While necessarily selective, the chronological presentation manages to consolidate Frank's long career without sacrificing either the breadth of his themes or the pathos of the individual images. The reproductions are handsome and the layout unconventional and dramatic, presenting each work to its best artistic advantage. Given such perspective and scope, the weight and poetry of Frank's oeuvre are undeniable. The inclusion of insightful critical and biographical writings on the artist further enhance the work. A fine introduction for the uninitiated, this volume will remain a valuable archive even after a catalogue raisonné is produced.-Douglas McClemont, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.