Hershey story 8 1956

Robert Frank created this photo sheet, "Hershey story 8," sometime in his career, documenting what appears to be a visit by schoolchildren to a public building. Imagine Frank, camera in hand, moving through the crowd, trying to capture the essence of the moment. What I see is the repetition of rectangular frames; within them, the children are like film, threaded together to form a narrative. They are captured at different moments and angles, like stills from a movie. The red marks act as counterpoints, suggesting the movement of his eye and hand as he edited and organized his photographs. He's capturing the feeling and flow of time, not necessarily the details. Frank's work always makes me think about how much the artist plays the role of editor. Like a painter layering brushstrokes, he's composing a picture out of fragments, making connections between moments. We, as viewers, are invited into this conversation, encouraged to feel the subtle shifts in perspective and mood.