[Leica] Frank at The Corcoran

["Steve LeHuray" <steve@streetphoto.net>]

I am back from a Press preview this morning of the new Robert Frank Exhibit
"London/Wales." This is a side of Robert Frank that nobody has seen before.

From the Wall Text Intro Panel:

"War is over; the heroic French population reaffirms superiority, Paris, and
Flowers...but London was black, white and gray, the elegance, the style, all
present in front of always changing fog. Then I met a man from Wales talking
about the Miners and I had to read 'How Green Was My Valley.' This became my
only try to make a 'Story'."

- - Robert Frank

These pictures taken between 1951 - 1953 show contrasting opposing themes
such as money/work, rich/poor and city/country in London and Wales. Most of
these pictures are unpublished and about 20 of the pictures had never been
printed before. These pictures came to light while Frank and Curator Peter
Brockman worked in Washington, DC (Frank's negatives are housed in DC) to
organize the exhibit.

I found these "London/Wales" pictures much more compelling and with rich
content than 'The Americans.' What really comes through in these pictures is
the bleakness of London and Wales during that period. I found the London
portion to be much more interesting than the Wales set.

These also convinced me of the value of Street Photography for historical
reasons.

The Exhibit will be at the Corcoran from May 10 to July 14 and well worth a
visit.

sl
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