Robert Frank is a Jewish Swiss-American who traveled across the United States, documenting society. Frank spent his early years in Switzerland. During World War II, Frank turned to photography to escape his business-oriented home. In 1947, Frank emigrated to the United States when he was just 23 years old. He worked for several magazines, traveled across Europe and South America and eventually returned to the U.S. where he married Mary Lockspeiser, with whom he had two children. Frank’s view of the United States went from optimistic to pessimistic rather quickly. He realized that American life overemphasizes money and that it can be quite lonely. In 1955, Frank traveled across the U.S. to photograph the differences in society across the country. …show more content…
The clothes that the men are wearing represent several things. First, the clothing depicts a time period, probably the1940s or 50s. Next, it depicts a season; the men are wearing coats, hats, and scarves which means that it is cooler, either fall or winter. They are all wearing steel-toed boots which could represent their line of work. Also, their clothing is dirty and doesn’t appear to be very high quality which constitutes that they are of the working class. None of the men appear to have wedding rings, which could mean that they are solely providing for themselves. Construction workers tend to wear steel-toed boots, so I figure that these men work in construction. Their faces are covered in dirt or soot which indicates that they have already been working by the time this picture was taken. While their location is unknown, the concrete building material and drainage grate indicate that they are outdoors. The men are smiling. This could mean that they are posing for the picture or maybe somebody cracked a joke before the photo was taken. Lastly, several of the mean are visibly holding a piece of paper. This could be their paycheck or maybe they’re signing up for