"Last May, Robert Frank, the world’s pre-eminent living photographer, returned to Zurich, the orderly Swiss banking city, cosseted by lake and mountain, where he grew up. When an artist who made his reputation by leaving returns home, mixed feelings are inevitable, and that was especially true for Frank, whose iconic American pictures are notable for their deep understanding of human complication.‘I know this town, but I certainly feel like a stranger here,’ he said. As he walked through the immaculate Zurich city center, with its many statues, gilded shop signs and fountains, Frank was ‘just amazed how well organized everything is, how perfect everything is.’ The Swiss, he explained, do not throw coins into fountains, because ‘they have everything they need. They don’t believe in wishing wells. Only the poor have to hope.’ Deciding he wanted to ride a streetcar, Frank surveyed the different lines. ..."
NY Times
2014 May: “Walker Evans and Robert Frank – An Essay on Influence by Tod Papageorge” (1981)
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