Paris 19B 1951 - 1952

Robert Frank made this photographic work, Paris 19B, at an undetermined date, using black and white film. I think about what it was like for Frank to walk around Paris with his camera, observing and capturing moments that resonated with him. It must have been such a sensory experience. Frank was really trying to find new ways of seeing. These strips of film feel like a visual diary, or maybe a kind of map of his wanderings, with each frame capturing a fragment of his experience. I wonder what it was like for him to develop these images, to see them emerge from the chemicals, to make sense of them. Were they a mirror of his experiences? Did they take on new meaning once printed? I think the physicality of the film—the grain, the scratches, the imperfections—these things are really important and they remind us that photography is not just about capturing reality, but also about transforming it. And Frank definitely transformed it!