Frank’s Picnic Ground-Glendale, California (1959) captures American youth and the motorcar culture circa 1955-1956. It’s direct and unmediated, serving his intention to portray Americans as they are.
The couples congregate in front of their cars. Because they are wearing bathing suits and sitting on towels, they suggest they are near a pool or lake. But there are no baskets, no food, and no drinks. These picnickers have only each other in mind, and they sit huddled together or embracing. The proximity of the picnickers to their parked cars unintentionally suggests that the picnic and the parking lot are inseparable.
Featured Image: Robert Frank. Picnic Ground-Glendale, California (1959), gelatin silver print. In The Americans. New York: Grove Press, 1959.
See Robert Frank. The Americans. New York: Grove Press, 1958.