London / Wales

by Robert Frank

58 Members 1 Review ½ (4.50)

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"War is over; the heroic French population reaffirms superiority. Love, 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 read How Green Was My Valley. This became my only try to make a 'Story'." Robert Frank London/Wales brings together two distinct bodies of work to reveal a new understanding of Frank's contribution to the history of photography. show more Juxtaposing the world of money and the world of work in post-war England, Frank photographed London bankers, workers, and children, and Welsh coal miners and their families. These images poetically evoke relationships between the classes during a time of change in Britain. Setting a significant documentary precedent for Frank's best known work, The Americans, London/Wales demonstrates the artist's early interest in social commentary, the narrative potential of photographic sequencing and his innovative use of the expressionistic qualities of the medium. Featuring 90 black and white photographs, London/Wales tells a timeless story of cities, people, and institutions in transition through emotional, evocative images while revealing Frank's struggle to forge a new form of poetic narrative photography. This reprint of the 2003 Scalo edition will not include the text booklet. show less

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1 review
Outstanding documentary collection of Frank's look at postwar London and Welsh coal miners. This is haunting work by a master artist.

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Picture of author.
55+ Works 2,388 Members

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
London / Wales
People/Characters
Robert Frank
Epigraph
"There is a strange way you can tell London in a man's suit. Why is London such a wonderful place that it will speak to you even in a piece of cloth?"

Richard Llewellyn, How Green Was My Valley

Classifications

Genres
Nonfiction, Art & Design
DDC/MDS
779Arts & recreationPhotographyPhotographic images
LCC
TR647 .F727TechnologyPhotographyPhotographyApplied photography
BISAC

Statistics

Members
58
Popularity
531,511
Reviews
1
Rating
½ (4.50)
Languages
English
Media
Paper
ISBNs
4
ASINs
1