City of London 14/Black White and Things 10 1952 - 1953

This contact sheet was created by Robert Frank, who was thinking in black and white, and scribbling and circling in green, yellow and blue. I can imagine him in the darkroom, hunched over, the smell of chemicals filling the air, and his mind's eye already seeing what could be. He's taking a scalpel to life itself. Not just snipping out what he wants to show us but obscuring some and highlighting other parts. The film strip grid becomes like an anthology of moments. Frank had a keen eye for composition. He isolates certain scenes, or people, and frames them with these intense circles. It's all about drawing our attention to the narrative he’s trying to build. There's a real conversation happening here – between the street scenes, the city, the artist, and, now, us. And even more, a conversation about the artist's selection, and how choices create meaning in the edit.