Embarkation--New York City 0 1955

Robert Frank made this proof sheet in New York City, and with photography, it shows us what it means to see the world in strips, in layers. Look at this object; it’s not the photo, but the outtakes. The blurry, the too dark, the poorly composed. But held together, it’s not just one thing: it's a whole process. It's Frank saying: hey, look at this stuff that usually gets tossed out! The grit and the grime, the contact of the camera with the world, the way it makes it so we can see it, too. My eye keeps going to the two figures seated at the bottom left; their dark skin almost merges into the dark ground, then separated from it by the bright white of their clothing. What are they doing? Waiting? Are they alone, or together? It reminds me of Diane Arbus, who, like Frank, showed us that art comes from looking at what others turn away from.