Convention hall—Chicago 1956

Robert Frank made this black and white photograph, Convention hall—Chicago, sometime in the mid-twentieth century. I love the way the light falls on the scene, how it makes the rows of empty seats seem to go on forever. But it's the people that really catch my eye. The man and woman in the front, with their patterned shirts, seem so out of place in this formal setting. Are they lost in their thoughts? Or are they waiting for something to happen? I think Frank was interested in capturing these kinds of moments – these glimpses of everyday life that often go unnoticed. It’s like he’s saying, "Look, this is what it's like to be alive right now." And that's what makes his work so powerful. Frank was part of a whole generation of photographers who were pushing the boundaries of the medium, like Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand. They were all trying to find new ways of seeing the world, and they were all inspiring each other in the process.