Making of ‘Parade - Hoboken, New Jersey’ (by Robert Frank, 1955), 2018

The story behind the photograph…

Parade, Hoboken, New Jersey, captured by Robert Frank, stands as a seminal photograph within his groundbreaking work, "The Americans." This image is immediately associated with the photographer, and the American flag, a recurring motif throughout the book, takes center stage. Frank's fascination with the flag's pervasive presence is evident in his acknowledgment, stating, 'I liked the visual, graphic image of that flag, I think it’s a very good flag.' Throughout "The Americans," the stars-and-stripes makes several notable appearances, suspended mid-air at a Fourth of July picnic, emerging from a tuba at a Chicago political rally, hanging amidst presidential portraits in a Detroit bar, and more. Frank manipulates this charged national symbol, presenting it as both opaque and translucent, a statement of national pride or merely an accessory to the pageantry of American politics. Taken in March 1955 during Hoboken's centennial celebration, Parade, Hoboken, New Jersey, encapsulates two obscured faces, one in shadow and the other concealed by the flag itself. Among Frank's flag images, Parade uniquely reflects the atmosphere of the 1950s, a decade marked by the heightening Cold War tensions and McCarthy hearings. Frank's dual identity as an outsider—an artist and a European—afforded him a distinctive perspective to delve into American culture, resulting in an image now revered as one of the defining photographs of 20th-century America.