Robert Frank: Books and Films
Project Summary
Robert Frank: Books and Films was a collaboration between the Richard Ehrlich Family Foundation and Steidl, one of the world’s leading fine art printers. The Richard Ehrlich Family Foundation was principally responsible for funding and overseeing this touring exhibit at multiple sites throughout the United States.
Robert Frank is widely considered the inventor of street photography, and has been called one of the most influential photographers of all time. Despite his significant influence, there have been few exhibitions of his work. Frank’s original silver gelatin prints are fragile objects and rarely on public display; his original works remain mostly in private collections, rarely visible to the public.
Robert Frank: Books and Films, conceived by Robert Frank himself and Gerhard Steidl, was a traveling exhibition that sought to bring appreciation of Frank’s unique and essential body of work to a wider audience. Frank’s images are printed on sheets of newsprint and hung from walls or from the ceiling. His films and videos, so often overshadowed by his photographic work, are projected directly onto gallery walls. Each exhibition is tailored to the opportunities of each gallery space, designed to recreate the visceral experience Frank sought to capture with his photography.
Each exhibition is entirely disposed of after display, circumventing the normal cycle of speculation and consumption in the art market. Cheap, high-quality prints were made available to the public at each gallery.
As Frank put it, the exhibits are “Cheap, quick, and dirty, that’s how I like it!”
Exhibitions
The Richard Ehrlich Family Foundation oversaw a series of exhibitions of the Robert Frank: Books and Films project. Exhibitions have been listed below, alongside the partner galleries and sponsors.
We are grateful for the support of the local funders and supporters who gave their time, energy, and resources to make these exhibits a reality.
Boston, MA | October 6, 2017 - November 5, 2017
The Tisch Library, Tufts University
Sponsors: Steve Tisch | A71 | Steve Tisch Family Foundation
Chicago, IL | May 14, 2016 - August 20, 2016
Art Institute of Chicago
Sponsors: The Jane P. Watkins Fund of the Schwab Charitable Fund | The Lisa and John Pritzker Family Fund
Houston, TX | December 9, 2017 - January 5, 2017
Houston Center for Photography
Sponsors: Steve Tisch | Steve Tisch Family Foundation
Los Angeles, CA | March 31, 2016 - April 15, 2016
Bergamot Station
Sponsors: UCLA Department of Art History,
New York, NY | January 29, 2016 - February 11, 2016
Tisch School of the Arts at New York University
Sponsors: Kanbar Institute of Film and Television Cinema Studies | Swiss Consulate of New York | Geist Family
Portland, OR | January 4, 2018 - February 25, 2018
Blue Sky Gallery
Sponsors: Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation | Arlene Schnitzer and Jordan Schnitzer | Steve Tisch | Steve Tisch Family Foundation
San Francisco, CA | February 17, 2017 - March 3, 2018
Reva and David Logan Gallery & Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley
Sponsors: Steve Tisch | Steve Tisch Family Foundation | Taube Philanthropies
Press
NYU Tisch School of the Arts | January 28, 2016
New York Times | February 5, 2016
Santa Monica Lookout | April 13, 2016
Berkeley Journalism | February 17, 2017
Boston Globe | October 17, 2017
The Tufts Daily | October 17, 2017
Houston Center for Photography | December 9, 2017
