Robert Frank

Robert Frank is one of the most influential of 20th-century photographers. In 2015 Museum Folkwang will pay tribute to the life and work of this revolutionary figure of subjective documentary photography with a show featuring an extraordinary selection of his photographs, books, and films, entitled: Robert Frank: Books and Films, 1947–2014.

The show features a selection from Robert Frank’s photobooks and of his prints, inkjet-printed on rolls of newsprint, measuring up to four metres long, and then glued directly onto the walls. From his home in Nova Scotia, Frank’s initial reaction to this novel idea for the display was: ‘Cheap, quick, and dirty, that’s how I like it!’ In addition to his photobook narratives, the exhibition will also feature his filmic narratives, with all films presented in digital format.

The Essen exhibition also includes Frank’s rare series From the Bus (1958), part of the Folkwang collection, which marks the photographer’s farewell to street photography and his transition to the medium of film. Acquired in 2010, 12 images from the New York series will go on display, along with other selected prints from the Folkwang collection.