As part of the photography brief, we are reading a photograph, for the class task we are looking at Robert Frank's Trolley from 1955.
What?
What is in the photograph, and what are your first impressions?
This is an image of a 'trolley' or bus with the people of New Orleans. The bus is segregated, so the black people are at the black and the white people are at the front of the bus. The framing of the image is very effective as it is split into thirds. The bottom third is just the blank side of the bus, and at the top, there is a thin sliver of the side of the bus which almost gives the impression of a cinema with the lines below and above. The most important and largest third is in the middle and directly at the viewer's eye line. Each person is then framed again in the windows, and they stare back out at the photographer/us, now from history. Each person with their own story. The older well-dressed lady at the front, her handbag sitting on her knees and sits straight and looks out at the view. In the next frame is a boy and a young toddler who is crying. The boy, dressed quite smartly, holds onto the frame and looks directly at the photographer. In the third frame, a man wearing what looks like work clothes leans on the frame and again seems to catch the photographer, and now looks directly at the viewer. The fourth frame is an older woman again, quite well dressed, looking back, perhaps she is going to work or shopping and taking the bus. The final third with the upper windows shows reflections of the outside and silhouettes of the people within, creating an impressionist film strip along the top of the image.
Who?
Who is in the photograph? How do you feel when looking at the people in this image?
As above the people in the image are just the ordinary people of New Orleans, the people look like they are just living their lives as it was in 1955.
Do you feel part of the image, or do you feel you are just looking on?
I do feel part of the image, the image draws you in and I could imagine beimng on the bus. I imagine that it is a hot day, there is hardly a breeze and the trolley is hot and sticky and it is going to be a long ride in a cramped and noisy bus. The smell is of sweat and dust, I can imagine being in this different world. This frame is a long way from my own life however the social issues still exist and this image was before I was born, but I can imagine this time and this image is an important historical document that transports me back and helps me to understand.
When? When was this image taken? What does that mean in terms of historical information?
This image clearly shows segregation on the buses and 'In 1958, [Robert Frank] wrote: “With these photographs, I have attempted to show a cross-section of the American population. My effort was to express it simply and without confusion.”' (Reed, 2020). This is a historical document and through Franks seminal book The Americans (1958) first published in France and then a year later in the United States, American life can be seen from a different viewpoint, it is a social commentary and Frank not coming from America, he was a Swiss-Jewish immigrant, has the advantage of seeing it from an outsiders point of view. Frank took eight hundred rolls of film to capture American life, and 'His elliptical, off-kilter style was controversial, as was his innovative treatment of his subject matter, which revealed a profound sense of alienation in American life.' (The Museum of Modern Art, 2025). This sense of alienation really refelects Franks feeling from the outside he is an alien in a foreign land and like my impression of the image, I feel like I am inside it, I can imagine it but it is another world, a world I have never lived in, but I am also a product of that history.
Why? Why did Robert Frank take this image? Why is the photograph important?
Frank took this image and all the other images for The Americans (1958) to express what he saw as American life at the time. His images were unusually shot, framed and composed differently; they were not just straight shots of buildings, landscapes, people, they took a different perspective. This shot that has been flattened almost to make it look like a postcard, the trolley fills the frame and using the frames within the frame create individual stories, not only is there segregation, but each individual is highlighted by their own frame and through this they become more human, more individual to the viewer. LadyKflo states; 'The trolley car punctuates each square window with white bars on each side, as if to say that whiteness organized this system and keeps it in place.' (Katherine, 2022) I don't believe that this statement is really the truth, I don't believe the white bars were about a system, I think the bus had what we window frames and actually Frank through these frames did highlight individuality, even through the segregated bus.
How? How has the image been taken? What technical points can you discuss?
This image was taken as a snapshot as the bus was moving, hence the blurred windows and moving reflection in the upper third of the shot. The flat 2D frame and separation into three follows photographic rules and creates a shot that fills the frame and uses frames within the frame to create a really masterful shot that has stood the test of time, as we are still talking about this shot 70 years later.
How has your view changed after researching the image? What do you now understand the image to mean?
I think it is interesting that now we look at this through the lens of history. At the time when it was published, it was probably not understood or appreciated, Jno Cook states; 'It was little understood and appreciated at first, and it took ten years before its influence was recognized' (ASX, 2009). Viewpoints change through time, and how we see certainly changes. We all now have a more sophisticated understanding of the image only because we are bombarded by them. Photography at this time was still young, and these images were experimental and strange to people. Now they have become important historical documents. Frank also stated of his images, 'My photographs are not planned or composed in advance and I do not anticipate that the on-looker will share my viewpoint. However, I feel that if my photograph leaves an image on his mind—something has been accomplished.' (amer4127, 2012). Frank wanted others to take whatever they could from his images. he was a recorder but as he said, he did not plan this; he just took what he saw in his own way. Frank was a pioneer in the photographic field, he discovered new perspectives, new ways of seeing that he shared with us.
Conclusion
This image is a seminal image from Robert Frank's collection in The Americans. The image now still has impact and stands up as art and a historical document. As we look into the eyes of the people here on the bus, we can imagine being within the frame, at a different time and with different attitudes and perspectives. Times have changed, but we still have many issues still with racism in America, which is why Black Lives Matter is so important. We are in a better world, in some ways, but we still have an awful lot of work to do.
References
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