Man in uniform driving truck--New Mexico 1955

This black and white photograph, taken in New Mexico by Robert Frank, captures a man in uniform driving a truck. It's all about the grays here, a sort of moody palette that feels very much of its time. What strikes me is the texture, or lack thereof. Everything seems smoothed over, flattened, almost like a memory fading at the edges. The lone windscreen wiper spears upwards, breaking the image in two, pointing to something unseen. There is the suggestion of movement, of journeying, of going somewhere. Frank wasn't trying to capture a perfect image, but instead, a moment in time. It reminds me of Walker Evans in a way, but grittier. It's more raw somehow, less composed, like Frank just grabbed the moment and ran with it. And that’s what makes it so powerful, its imperfections. Art is not about perfection, but about feeling.