Float, Rose Bowl Parade--Pasadena, California 1956

This is a black and white photograph of the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California, by Robert Frank. I can almost feel the sun on my skin, standing where Frank stood, probably jostling in the crowd, squinting at a performer on one of the floats. Her smile is hidden, and she looks slightly away from the camera, maybe at the crowd or something else we can't see. The shot makes her feel less like a performer and more like someone just doing a job. It's got that in-between moment that Frank was so good at capturing. She’s surrounded by the float and the foliage, these big feathery palm leaves. You can sense the atmosphere in the air that day, see the almost brutal California light and all the textures it creates. The black and white flattens it all a bit, makes you notice the composition instead of the spectacle. It's a quiet moment amid the parade. I always think about how artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Isn't that how we keep art alive?