In Photography After Frank, former New York Times writer and picture
editor Philip Gefter narrates the tale of contemporary photography,
beginning at the pivotal moment when Robert Frank commenced his seminal
works of the 1950s. Along the way, he connects the dots of photography's
evolution into what it is today, forging links between its episodes to
reveal unsuspected leaps. Gefter takes Frank's The Americans as a
decisive challenge to photographic objectivity, with its grainy,
off-hand-seeming spontaneity and its documentation of life beyond the
picket fence. Thus viewed, The Americans provides Gefter with a bridge
to the phenomenon of the staged document and Postmodernism's further
challenge to image fidelity. Other areas of discussion include
photojournalism, the recent diversity of portraiture styles, the
influence of private and corporate collections on curatorial decisions
and how the market shapes art making. Throughout Photography After
Frank, Gefter deftly demonstrates Frank's legacy in the work of dozens
of important individual artists who followed in his wake, from Lee
Friedlander and Nan Goldin to Stephen Shore and Ryan McGinley. The book
includes texts written exclusively for this publication as well as
essays drawn from Gefter's critical writings, reviews and even
obituaries. Photography After Frank offers a page-turning approach to
a subject that will appeal to students and art world aficionados alike.
