Robert Frank and his beautiful photos of Valencia in the 1950s came together in a lavish coffee-table book ‘Valencia 1952’. ‘Valencia Life’ photographer Paul Knowles profiles Robert Frank and pays tribute to his Valencia life through a lens…
Robert Frank was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. His visceral, raw and deeply personal style played a huge part in revolutionising the style of documentary photography. Born in Switzerland, Frank emigrated to New York at the age of 23 as an artistic refugee from what he considered to be the small-minded values of his native country. He viewed America as a new, free world. A blank canvas if you like.
Robert Frank is undoubtedly most famous for his groundbreaking book The Americans. A masterful collection of black-and-white photographs taken on his cross-country road trips in the mid-1950s and published in 1958. Frank’s photographs of lone individuals, teenage couples, groups at funerals and reflections of cultural life were cinematic and grainy. They captured the heart and essence of the nation during a tumultuous period in its social history. The cultural critic Janet Malcolm labelled him the “Manet of the new photography”.
No man is a prophet in his own country
Like all groundbreaking artists, Frank’s work wasn’t always immediately appreciated by everyone. Often considered warped, smudgy and bitter. Popular Photography magazine complained about the “meaningless blur, grain, muddy exposures and general sloppiness” of his work. Mr Frank, the magazine continued, was “a joyless man who hates his adopted country’’.
Yet this couldn’t be further from the truth. At the core of his photography was a romantic idea about finding and documenting what was true and good about the United States.
In 1952, Frank left his job and New York to travel with his family to Europe. For many months they settled in Valencia. During this period, Valencia was suffering from a post-war crisis and poverty was rife. Frank set about documenting life in the intriguing fishermen’s community of El Cabanyal and beyond. Most of his photos of Valencia
From camera roll to book
These photographs resulted in the publication of the book Valencia 1952. In this book, stark images of the coastline, street lights, shop window mannequins and funerals contrast sharply with photographs of weddings, parades and, of course, the festivals so synonymous with Valencia life.
Photographers have always been drawn to places and cultures different from their own. The lure to capture the exotic and unfamiliar has always been strong. Frank, however, portrays Valencia from a slightly unusual viewpoint. Not of a traveller, but of a person partly settled but not fully integrated into the community. Because of this, Frank was able to photograph people from a close, yet respectful, distance. This gives his photographs an emotional intimacy, sensitivity and a culpable tension.
The archivist of Cabanyal
Most of the photographs in Valencia 1952 are from the few quarters around Robert’s own home in El Cabanyal. In the introduction to the book Robert writes that “black and white are the colours of photography.
“To me they symbolise the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected,” he pronounced, insightfully .
The photographs undoubtedly fall into the category of documentary but like so much of Frank’s work, they still maintain a veneer of romance. Many of the images are taken after the sun has set and therefore the atmosphere is enhanced with a blur created by long shutter speeds and moving objects. Valencia 1952 is a poetic and sentimental book. The possibility to create this body of work over a prolonged period of time contributed to the pleasant flow of images and that laidback Mediterranean feeling. There’s definitely no rush here.
Even though the images depict a city in the midst of a post-war crisis, this sense of despair is not the most prominent theme running through the book. Instead, it is a beautifully illustrated and poignant account of being human.
Simple, but not easy.
• Buy ‘Valencia 1952’ (English edition) for around €35 from amazon.es to enjoy even more photos of Valencia.
Keep up to date with news in Valencia HERE.
Thank you very much for sharing, I learned a lot from your article. Very cool. Thanks.
Thank you very much for sharing, I learned a lot from your article. Very cool. Thanks.
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me? https://accounts.binance.com/sk/register-person?ref=OMM3XK51
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?
buď vytvořil sám, nebo zadal externí firmě, ale vypadá to.
It contains fastidious material.|I think the admin of this website is actually working hard in favor of his site,
díky tomuto nádhernému čtení! Rozhodně se mi líbil každý kousek z toho a já
Muito obrigado!}
enten oprettet mig selv eller outsourcet, men det ser ud til
الاستمرار في توجيه الآخرين.|Ahoj, věřím, že je to vynikající blog. Narazil jsem na něj;
že spousta z něj se objevuje na internetu bez mého souhlasu.
také jsem si vás poznamenal, abych se podíval na nové věci na vašem blogu.|Hej! Vadilo by vám, kdybych sdílel váš blog s mým facebookem.
|Hello to all, for the reason that I am actually keen of
nogensinde løbe ind i problemer med plagorisme eller krænkelse af ophavsretten? Mit websted har en masse unikt indhold, jeg har
nenarazili jste někdy na problémy s plagorismem nebo porušováním autorských práv? Moje webové stránky mají spoustu unikátního obsahu, který jsem vytvořil.
UID_74743238###
Ini dia! 🎉🎉 ASN BKN Ubah Pola Kerja yang baru dan efisien! 🎉🎉.
UID_83344528###
Inilah 🎉🎉 Pupuk Inovatif Kebun Riset Kujang yang bikin Wamen BUMN bangga! 💪🏻🇮🇩
Můžete mi doporučit nějaké další blogy / webové stránky / fóra, které se zabývají stejnými tématy?
UID_21891068###
Takjub 😮 dengan fenomena serbu gas? Yuk, baca Warung Tatang Diserbu Warga dan temukan faktanya! 🕵️♀️👀
UID_25978847###
situs terbaik hanya di slot gacor agentotoplay
UID_95859078###
Baru-baru ini, para pemain Mahjong Wins 3 dikejutkan dengan bocoran RTP yang diklaim bisa meningkatkan peluang kemenangan secara signifikan. Banyak yang percaya bahwa informasi ini membantu mereka mendapatkan hasil yang lebih konsisten dalam permainan. Jika Anda ingin tahu lebih lanjut, cek bocoran RTP Mahjong Wins 3 hari ini dan lihat apakah strategi ini benar-benar efektif.
UID_57331425###
Skandal terbaru mengguncang komunitas pecinta game slot setelah seorang admin terkenal, Rachel, dikabarkan tertangkap membocorkan pola kemenangan Gate of Olympus. Banyak yang bertanya-tanya apakah informasi ini benar-benar akurat atau hanya sekadar rumor yang beredar di kalangan pemain. Simak lebih lanjut detailnya dalam artikel admin Rachel tertangkap bocorkan pola Gate of Olympus.
UID_17136916###
Kisah inspiratif datang dari seorang tukang ojek online asal Tangerang yang berhasil membawa pulang hadiah fantastis setelah bermain Mahjong Ways 2. Dengan modal kecil, ia sukses mengubah nasibnya dan meraih kemenangan besar senilai 200 juta rupiah. Penasaran bagaimana caranya? Simak kisah lengkapnya di artikel tukang ojek online menang 200 juta dari Mahjong Ways 2.
UID_17136916###
Kisah inspiratif datang dari seorang tukang ojek online asal Tangerang yang berhasil membawa pulang hadiah fantastis setelah bermain Mahjong Ways 2. Dengan modal kecil, ia sukses mengubah nasibnya dan meraih kemenangan besar senilai 200 juta rupiah. Penasaran bagaimana caranya? Simak kisah lengkapnya di artikel tukang ojek online menang 200 juta dari Mahjong Ways 2.
UID_87427935###
Cek yuk! 🚍👮♂️Operasi Keselamatan 2025 Polres Ciamis Siapa tahu bus favoritmu jadi sasaran! 😱👍
I was curious if you ever thought of changing the structure of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
UID_18563832###
Ini yang di ganti >>> Yuk, ketahui lebih lanjut tentang Syarat Gabung OECD dan Pentingnya Ratifikasi Konvensi Antisuap di sini! 🕵️♀️🔎📚.
UID_83003169###
Kenalan yuk! 🤝 Dengan guru inspiratif ini, Guru Dede Sulaeman yang mengajarkan cara merapikan pakaian di kelasnya. 👕👚🎓
apreciariam o seu conteúdo. Por favor, me avise.
vykřiknout a říct, že mě opravdu baví číst vaše příspěvky na blogu.
Conhecem algum método para ajudar a evitar que o conteúdo seja roubado? Agradecia imenso.
) Vou voltar a visitá-lo uma vez que o marquei no livro. O dinheiro e a liberdade são a melhor forma de mudar, que sejas rico e continues a orientar os outros.
Muito obrigado!}
Tak skal du have!|Olá, creio que este é um excelente blogue. Tropecei nele;
Esta página tem definitivamente toda a informação que eu queria sobre este assunto e não sabia a quem perguntar. Este é o meu primeiro comentário aqui, então eu só queria dar um rápido
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
Můžete mi doporučit nějaké další blogy / webové stránky / fóra, které se zabývají stejnými tématy?
Hi there I am so excited I found your site, I really found you by mistake, while I was searching
on Aol for something else, Nonetheless I am here now and would just like to
say thank you for a fantastic post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it
all at the moment but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have
time I will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the
fantastic jo.
Just wish to say your article is as astounding. The clarity in yourpost is just excellent and i could assume you’re an experton this subject. Well with your permission let me to grab your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.Thanks a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.
5550″XOR(555*if(now()=sysdate(),sleep(15),0))XOR”Z