Paris 1951 - 1952

This gelatin silver print, Paris, was made by Robert Frank sometime in the mid-twentieth century. It's full of greys and blacks, with a sort of inky feel, like it was pulled from a dream. You know, art-making is a process of seeing, then translating, and Frank's doing that here, taking what's in front of him and turning it into something else. I'm drawn to the lettering on the side of the trailer, "Mur de la Mort" - Wall of Death. It’s so matter-of-fact, like a sign for a mundane service, only it’s hinting at something much deeper. The texture is amazing. The grain of the film gives it a kind of grit, and the way the light catches the edges of things makes it almost sculptural. It's like Frank's saying, "Hey, here's the world, raw and real, take it or leave it." It reminds me a little of Walker Evans, that same documentary style, but Frank’s got a darkness to him, a kind of existential shrug. Art isn't about answers, right? It's about asking questions, stirring things up.