To Rome--Italy 17 1964

Robert Frank made this contact sheet, ‘To Rome – Italy 17’, using photographic paper and film. It's a behind-the-scenes look at artmaking: a process of editing, selecting, and arranging. The greyscale gives a timeless feel. The film strip’s sprocket holes offer a framework around each image, like individual canvases. Look closely at the third row; the surface is marred by what looks like watermarks or chemical stains. These imperfections add to the photograph's texture. It's as if Frank is inviting us to see the process, not just the finished product. The stains and scratches, the hard-edged frames: they highlight the physicality of photography. They remind us that every image is the result of a material act. Frank's gritty style echoes the work of photographers like Walker Evans, who found beauty in the everyday. But here, the process itself is the subject. It’s like he’s saying, "Here’s the journey, not just the destination."