Guggenheim 587--San Francisco c. 1956

Robert Frank made this contact sheet, Guggenheim 587--San Francisco, with gelatin silver prints. I imagine him walking around, the light meter in his hand and his eye to the viewfinder. He probably developed the film himself in a darkroom, under a red light, watching as the images emerged. He might have cropped some to create emphasis, pushing us towards the heart of the image, creating something completely new. This is an intimate view into the world around him. Frank was a key figure in 20th-century photography, known for his raw and honest depictions of American life. His work broke from traditional documentary photography, offering a more personal and subjective perspective. It really opened up a space to think differently about photography. I see this work as a conversation with photographers like Walker Evans, who influenced Frank's approach to documenting everyday life. Artists are constantly building on each other's ideas, transforming them in the process.