Steidl, 2012.
Clkothbound hardcover with dust jacket, 64 pp., b/w illustrated, 253 x 253 mm. Photographs by Robert Frank.
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 .
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.
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.
