Robert Frank: Books and Films, 1947-2017

In Portland the unconventional traveling exhibition Robert Frank: Books and Films, 1947–2017 will be on view at Blue Sky Gallery. Board President and co-founder Christopher Rauschenberg reflects that “Robert Frank is a central part of Blue Sky‘s history, starting in 1976 when he sent us one of his negatives and invited us to make ourselves some prints. At the time, we were just a baby one year-old gallery, and his belief that we were doing something important forced us to consider for the first time that maybe we were.” Blue Sky hosted Robert Frank exhibitions in 1981 and 2012, and is honored to bring this retrospective to the Portland community.

Conceived by Robert Frank and Gerhard Steidl, this exhibition shows Frank’s work in photos, books and films in a direct accessible manner. Frank’s images are printed on sheets of newsprint and hung on the walls. A selection of Frank’s films and videos, which are so often overshadowed by his photographic work are shown on small portable “beamers”, projecting them directly onto the walls. Each exhibition is to be disposed of after display, thus circumventing the normal cycle of speculation and consumption in the art market. When the idea for this pop-up show first reached Frank in his small, crooked house in the Canadian village of Mabou, he said: “Cheap, quick, and dirty, that’s how I like it!”

Founded in 1975, Blue Sky Gallery‘s mission is to educate the public about photography through exhibitions, publications, and dialogue. Blue Sky hosts 22-24 solo exhibitions each year, showcasing photographers from all over the world.

Thursday, January 4
Lecture by Gerhard Steidl: 5:00PM
Print is not dead - The Beauty of Analogue Media in a Digital World
Opening Reception with a talk by Gerhard Steidl: 6:00PM

Gerhard Steidl talks about Robert Frank’s work

PREVIOUS DATES:
Houston Center for Photography (9.12.2017-5.1.2018)
Tisch Library/ Tufts University Boston (7.10.-5.11.2017)
IMS Paulista, São Paulo (20.9.-30.12.2017)
Design and Creative Center Kobe (2.9.-22.9.17)
Art Institute of Chicago (19.5.-26.5.17)
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism / Worth Ryder Gallery (18.2.-3.3.17)
Museum der Moderne, Salzburg (4.12.16-26.3.17)
Tokyo University of the Arts / The Chinretsukan Gallery (10.11.-24.11.16)
Kunsthalle Ziegelhütte, Appenzell (15.5.-30.10.16)
Bergamot Station / UCLA, Santa Monica (31.3.-13.4.16)
Halle 14, Leipzig (16.3.-10.4.16)
NYU/Tisch School of the Arts (29.1.-11.2.16)
Fotoistanbul, Istanbul (9.10.-8.11.15)
Museum Folkwang, Essen (17.4.-16.8.15)
Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich (22.11.-21.12.14)
NSDAC University, Halifax (5.9.-12.9.14)