From car--New York City no number 1954

Robert Frank made this photographic film sheet, From car—New York City no number, with, well, a camera. Here, we see the working method, the process. It’s a sequence, a story unfolding across the film strip. I love the way the mundane becomes monumental. The light, the grain, the contrast – it's like a visual diary entry. Look at the strip showing a car wing mirror, the chrome glinting against the blur of the road. The arrangement is both random and deliberate. Frank isn’t trying to be perfect, and that's what makes it sing. It reminds me of the rough-hewn beauty of early cinema, the Lumière brothers capturing everyday life with such raw immediacy. Ultimately, this piece embodies the spirit of experimentation. It’s about seeing the world with fresh eyes, embracing the imperfections, and finding poetry in the everyday. It resonates with the work of other photographers like Garry Winogrand, who captured the frenetic energy of city life with a similarly unvarnished eye.