Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue - by Lucy Gallun (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An in-depth exploration of the last six decades of work from the iconic photographer and filmmaker, with a special focus on his ceaseless experimentation and artistic collaborations."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

An in-depth exploration of the last six decades of work from the iconic photographer and filmmaker, with a special focus on his ceaseless experimentation and artistic collaborations

This volume, published in conjunction with the artist's first solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, provides new insights into the interdisciplinary and lesser-known aspects of Robert Frank's expansive career. The exhibition explores the six decades that followed his landmark photobook The Americans, a period in which Frank maintained an extraordinarily multifaceted practice characterized by perpetual experimentation across mediums and artistic and personal dialogues with other artists and with his communities. Coinciding with the centennial of his birth, this catalog takes its name from the artist's poignant 1980 film, Life Dances On, in which Frank reflects on the individuals who have shaped his outlook.
The lushly illustrated publication features photographs, films, books and archival materials, layered with quotes from Frank on his influences and process. Three scholarly essays, excerpts from previously unpublished video footage and a rich visual chronology together explore Frank's ceaseless creative exploration and observation of life.
Robert Frank was a Swiss American photographer and filmmaker best known for his groundbreaking monograph The Americans (1958). Over his decades-long career, Frank captured the complexities of contemporary life with a distinct style and poetic insight. He lived between New York City and Nova Scotia, Canada.

Review Quotes

['Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue'] as eloquent a case as can be made for [Robert Frank's] later art, often left in the shade by what came before.--Arthur Lubow "The New York Times"

[A] new book that looks at Frank's contributions to the art world beyond photography.--Donny Bajohr "Smithsonian Magazine"

[The] exhibition provides new insights into the interdisciplinary and lesser-known aspects of photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank's expansive career.-- "The Eye of Photography"

[This exhibition] shows how the interplay between still and moving images is at the core of Frank's art. Cinematic techniques including collage, serial imagery, and the layering of text and image abound in his photography after 'The Americans.'--David Schwartz "MUBI Notebook"

Consistently surprising and abundantly interesting.--Mark Feeney "The Boston Globe"

Frank came to find that [the photo editing process was] morally compromised. In his view, painting was additive, photography subtractive, a mere matter of plucking one or two items from the groaning smorgasbord of everything the eye could see. The show is the heartbreaking record of his attempt to cope with that anti-epiphany.--Ariella Budick "The Financial Times"

It's an important show, and a wonderful way to be reminded that making art depends on a kind of restless curiosity, and openness.--Hilton Als "The New Yorker"

MoMA's centennial exhibition dedicated to Robert Frank challenges the narrow view of reducing the photographer's oeuvre to his seminal work, 'The Americans.' The exhibition [...] counters the cult-like focus to spotlight his later works and his lesser-known avant-garde filmmaking career.--Guenola Pellen "Blind Magazine"

The 'Swiss, unobtrusive, nice' photographer had far more to capture than what was in the pages of 'The Americans' ...' Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue' highlights the work made in the decades that followed Frank's acclaimed book.--Zack Hauptman "Air Mail"

The vast majority of Frank's varied output in photography, film, and performance, and his participation in the electric Lower Manhattan scene of the 1960s, happened after The Americans. But those genre-bending collaborations are lesser known, an imbalance that the Museum of Modern Art's current show 'Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue' seeks to correct.--Ian Bourland "Aperture"

Touching.--Christopher Borelli "The Chicago Tribune"