Boy Scouts c. 1941

This is a photograph by Robert Frank, and it captures a moment, or rather, tries to. It’s difficult to take a picture. You see these boys – they are like a thick impasto of forms. Frank probably took shot after shot, trying to resolve the mess. Photography is not painting, but it’s similar – a dialogue with chaos. Like the artist, the world is constantly slipping out of your hands, while you are desperately trying to hold on to it. Look at the kid at the front, with the dark hair and even darker expression. He looks tough, like he’s already seen too much. I wonder if Frank noticed that too. Maybe he was thinking about the future, about what these boys would become. Or maybe he was just trying to get the shot. Anyway, Frank is one of the greats. He inspires us to keep trying, keep looking, keep making. We are all in conversation with each other.