Miles Forst's baby--New York City no number 1957

Editor: This is Robert Frank’s, “Miles Forst's baby--New York City no number,” a gelatin silver print from 1957. It is presented as the photographer's contact sheet. The effect is a little fragmented. How should we be looking at this? Curator: It does look like a private moment shared, doesn't it? The intimate scenes, almost like snapshots strung together. Notice the grainy texture. It's not about perfection, but capturing the raw immediacy of life. It is interesting Frank shows the photograph’s origins, making the artistic choices transparent. What is your personal feeling when looking at the sequence? Editor: I sense a kind of voyeuristic intimacy. I'm drawn in, but also feel a little like I shouldn't be looking. Curator: Exactly! The ordinary elevated, the hidden revealed. Frank wasn’t trying to pretty things up, which was rebellious at the time. Do you think that the photographer sees what we do? Or does our perspective add something to it? Editor: Well, that makes you wonder. I guess my reading is influenced by today's culture as much as anything. It's almost like early reality TV. Curator: Ah, the digital age influencing the analogue lens. How wonderful is that! This kind of dialogue across time is one of the beautiful rewards of art. It continues to shape our views. Editor: Yes! I was viewing the image through a lens of contemporary media. And this is making me think. Curator: Me, too. Thanks!