Valley--Landscape 1941 - 1945

Robert Frank made this photograph, "Valley--Landscape", using gelatin silver. His images often hint at cultural narratives and social issues, inviting us to think about the politics of imagery. Notice the composition: the upper half is left blank, with the image tightly cropped into the lower half of the frame. What could this mean? Frank was Swiss-American, and many of his photographs reflect on his identity. The high vantage point and the bird’s-eye view of the landscape speak to the sublime beauty and the vastness of nature. But it might also address the ways that land is inevitably divided, consumed, and shaped by human activity. The institutional histories of museums and galleries themselves affect the production and display of such imagery. These kinds of social and cultural questions can be addressed through careful historical research, by looking at the artist's background and the critical reception of his work. Art is not made in a vacuum, and neither is the study of art.