Carnival--Basel no number 1952

Robert Frank created this gelatin silver print, “Carnival--Basel no number,” sometime during his career. It’s a series of frames, a sequence of images, offering us multiple views of what I imagine is the same scene. I think about how Frank might have been moving through this carnival, each frame capturing a different angle, a different moment. There’s a beautiful rhythm in the repetition, almost like musical variations on a theme. Each image has its own distinct quality. Together they remind me of a conversation. I’m drawn to the blur of movement in some of the frames, the way it captures the energy and chaos of the carnival. It reminds me of the work of other photographers who use blur to convey motion and emotion. It’s like Frank is saying, "Here's life, captured imperfectly, in all its messy glory." And I love that.