Helicoptor over harbor--New York City no number 1955

This is Robert Frank's contact sheet, Helicoptor over harbor--New York City, with no date but made with a camera and darkroom. Frank’s not trying to give us a perfect picture, but a process: a record of looking, of thinking through images. Notice the Statue of Liberty up top, how the focus shifts and the frame tilts. It's like a flip book of almost-views. It’s as if he’s asking, "What does it mean to see this thing, really see it?" Down below, there’s the harbor, the city. Everything is grey. Look at the scratches and dust, the imperfections of the film; this is the real stuff, the grit of seeing. This piece is less about a single, iconic image and more about the messy, beautiful act of image-making itself. This contact sheet reminds me of Gerhard Richter’s use of photography, where the image is just a starting point, a way to get at something deeper, something about how we perceive and remember.