Andraitx, Spain 5 1952

Robert Frank made this intriguing photograph, Andraitx, Spain 5, from strips of film. This work presents a series of frames, each a moment captured, together forming a larger narrative. It’s like Frank is saying, "Here’s my thought process, see how I got there?" The texture is immediate. You see the grain of the film, the sprocket holes, even the marker circling some of the frames. I love the casual attitude towards the photographic process. The physicality of the medium reminds us that art-making is always a hands-on affair. Look at the frame with the number 5 scrawled next to it. It’s like the artist is marking his place, not unlike the marks a painter makes on a canvas. Frank lets us see his choices, inviting us into his world, one frame at a time. Frank reminds me of painters like Gerhard Richter, who similarly embrace process and chance.