Guggenheim 709--Ceremony, Casper, Wyoming 1956

This is 'Guggenheim 709--Ceremony, Casper, Wyoming' by Robert Frank, and what we're seeing is a contact sheet, an array of images all vying for attention. What kind of ceremony is this? I wonder why Frank wanted to capture it. Maybe it's the very act of looking that elevates this into something significant. It is almost as if he is saying 'look at all this Americana!' The composition is really interesting, all the images are arranged in such a way that they create an intimate and almost tactile experience. I can imagine him walking around Casper, Wyoming, trying to record this moment in American history. This work is so physical; I can almost feel the energy and the intensity of the ceremony itself, the black and white starkness captures something about the American soul. Maybe it is because Frank was an outsider, that we get such a unique perspective. Like all artists, Frank shows us how to look, he makes us see.