Assignment

Write an essay of 1,000 words on an image of your choice. The image can be anything you like, from a famous art photograph to a family snapshot, but please make sure that your chosen image has scope for you to make a rigorous and critical analysis. 

Response

Backyard – Venice West, California is one of 83 images presented in Robert Frank’s seminal photobook “The Americans” These 83 photographs, captured on 35mm black and white film, were selected from over 27,000 taken during his 1955-1956 tour of the United States of America supported by a Guggenheim fellowship (Rosenheim,2011).

Frank’s snapshot-like, shoot from the hip photographic style valuing image content over image quality broke new ground in 1950s photographic culture. His eschewing of classical composition rules and avoidance of political correctness in capturing his personal view of 1950’s America earned the review “…They are images of an America seen by a joyless man who hates the country of his adoption.” in Popular Photography magazine at the time(Sidley,2016). Frank’s images lifted the lid on the “American Dream” and “the land of the free”, graphically depicting the poverty and widening gap between the wealthy and poor and the prevalent racism of 1950s America.

The Americans wasn’t published until 1958, several years after Frank’s road trip. First published in France by Robert Delpire it included commentary from French writers critical of America. In 1959 it was republished in America by First Grove Press. Gone were the critical commentaries, in their place an introductory prose written by Jack Kerouac. In describing the contents therein Kerouac proffers “with that little camera that he raises and snaps with one hand he sucked a sad poem right out of America onto film, taking rank among the sad poets of the world” (Kerouac,1959).

There exists a poetic flow to the imagery within the book. Recurring themes of working life, transport, housing and leisure activities, amongst others, draw out comparisons between social groupings, the haves and have-nots, the working and governing classes. The images describe the reality of the life that existed beneath the polished facade of capitalism presented to the world.

In the mid 1950’s, despite much of America seeing an economic upturn after the second world war, Venice California was recognised as an area of poverty and social deprivation. This image depicts the rear garden of a property in Venice West, California between 1955 and 1956.

The image foreground consists of various plants, and evidence of plant propagation through the use of open topped glass cloches. The background to the image is a seemingly rundown single story dwelling with dirty louvred glass window panes set into its shiplap timber cladding. Much of the building is obscured by large bushes and trees. To the left hand side of the image a tree is shown that is without leaves. In the centre of the image and on a diagonal emphasised by the leading line of glass cloches the viewer’s eye is drawn to an elderly man sitting partially reclined in a chair under a makeshift shade. He sits, in his shirt and jacket, smoking a cigarette. The age of the man is unclear from his face alone as it is in shade but referential codes associated with his clothing suggest him to be elderly. Behind him are the rusting remains of an old (1930’s style) car which appears to have been abandoned. Leaning against the car is the long handle of a hoe or some other gardening implement and a box is perched on the car roof. The man’s cowboy style hat is hooked on a branch of the naked tree. Next to the man another chair which can be seen to be a dining chair which has been repurposed for the garden remains unoccupied, raising questions as to the location of the intended occupant if there is one?

The rundown condition of the property and overgrown condition of much of the garden denotes a lack of attention on the part of the owner but also connotes an inability or lack of interest in maintaining the property. Is the property too much for an elderly man to manage, or does a presumed lack of interest indicate depression? The glass cloches in a row, slanted bricks being used as a border to bedding plants, canes used to support planting all denote structured cultivation and they support the former. The garden tool resting against the car and the seating with makeshift shade suggest that the man is taking what is a necessary and regular break from gardening in the hot sun. In combination these codes describe a man who cares about his garden but is unable to expend the necessary effort or money that it would take to fully maintain it.

The abandoned and rusting car body which appears not to have moved in years connotes poverty. The man may be unable to drive any more, or it may just have broken down and has found himself unable to afford the cost of repair. We may not know the answer but culturally we would expect the car to have been taken for scrap or sold rather than left in situ to rust away. The reuse of bricks to create a border connotes thrift and is not uncommon, but the repurposing of dining chairs in the garden and the makeshift nature of the shade are unusual and again back up the connotations of poverty.

A particularly important code within this image relates to the makeshift shade under which the man sits. The image is monochrome so we are unable to make out the colour but the striped fabric of the shade and also on the back of the chair that the man occupies conjure images of the American flag. Within the context of the book in which this image is published the link to the American flag amongst the signs of poverty and decay makes a powerful statement about social inequality in America at that time.

For me this image reminds me of my grandfather in his later years. A keen gardener but with neither the energy or finances to fully maintain his plot. This is not a heartbreaking story but it is a sad one and it is one that is equally relevant today.

References:
Frank, R. Kerouac, J. (2017) The Americans. eleventh edition, Gottingen: Steidl.

Sidley, K. (2016) Robert Frank, American, born Switzerland.1924–2019 [online].MoMA. Available from: https://www.moma.org/artists/1973#fn:1. Last accessed 14/09/2020.

Rosenheim, J. (2011). Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans – Panel and Lecture [online]. MoMA. Available from: https://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/ph/robert-franks-the-americans. Last accessed: 14/09/2020.

Bibliography:
Gefter, P. (2019) Robert Frank Dies; Pivotal Documentary Photographer
Was 94 [online]. The New York Times (website). Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/arts/robert-frank-dead-americans-photography.html. Last accessed: 14/09/2020.

Westland Network. (2009) Venice History [online]. Westland Network (website).Available from:https://www.westland.net/venice/history.htm. Last Accessed: 14/09/2020.