Workmen digging grave, Forest Lawn--Los Angeles 1956

This photograph of workmen digging a grave at Forest Lawn in Los Angeles was shot by Robert Frank. What was it like for Frank to frame this image? You can see the grave in the foreground, next to a set of tired and discarded wreaths. A man is digging, pausing for a moment as the photo is taken. In a way, Frank's gesture is akin to the gravedigger's, excavating something from the depths. A grave, like a photograph, is a container of sorts. Both are memorials, the former for a life, the latter for a moment in time. The photograph and grave each offer a space for reflection. Maybe they can teach us something about how we memorialize, and what it means to remember.