New York City no number 1958

This is Robert Frank’s photographic film from New York City, and just looking at the strip makes me think about the sequencing of images. What was he thinking when he took each shot? The film is like a series of glances: a view of the street from above, then a road full of cars, then a blurry face. Each frame feels like a fleeting moment, and together, they give you a feeling of what it's like to be a person moving through the city. I think of other painters when I see this. Think of Gerhard Richter's blurred photographs, or the way Ellsworth Kelly cropped images of buildings to make abstract paintings. Artists are always looking at each other's work, even across different media. It's like one big conversation. And in this piece, Frank shows us how photography can be as personal, messy, and alive as a painting.