Our Evening with Robert Frank

Charleston, South Carolina, 1955

© Robert Frank

A good friend once told us that they escape disappointment from artist lectures by avoiding them altogether. He mentioned that usually hearing an artist speak took the 'magic' away from their work. Perhaps we're all just too excited and full of expectations that when you hear an artist whom you admire speak, you've already set yourself up for disappointment. An Evening With Robert Frank at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium in the Met, was a sold out, jam-packed, star-studded event full of many heavy hitters and photo lovers. We're glad to have purchased our tickets months ago and even more delighted to have seen and heard him in person. Perhaps we're of the younger generation of photographers that just seeing Robert Frank was an absolute pleasure. And maybe of the many artist talks we've been to they all just seem to barely touch the surface of how and why their work was made, so we're used to it. What the night did offer and extend to us besides the humorous comments and moments throughout was imagining his journey, while we couldn't help but compare it to our own recent travels across the states for which he is to thank for. His standing ovation was well deserved, and The Americans is a book one will never tire referring to. Thank you Robert Frank for many many things!