Die Tiere (Animals) 13-19 1942 - 1946

Robert Frank's photographic work, "Die Tiere (Animals) 13-19," presents us with a series of vignettes, captured through the lens of a camera. I imagine Frank, out there in the field, among the animals, trying to find the right angle. I see a dog, a bull, sheep— a whole menagerie of creatures brought together on a single sheet. It reminds me of the way Kurt Schwitters collaged scraps of paper, tickets, and trash, building up surfaces of found imagery into these beautiful compositions. Frank seems to do something similar here, layering different perspectives and creating a montage of animal life. Look at the grainy texture of the photographs. It's not crisp or clean; instead, there is a kind of raw immediacy. I think about other photographers like Helen Levitt who captured the pulse of the streets with such spontaneity. I guess what I am saying is that artists are magpies, picking up bits and pieces of the world and arranging them in new ways. It's a conversation across time.