Café table, Paris 1951

Robert Frank made this photograph, "Cafe Table, Paris," using gelatin silver. It looks like a fleeting moment frozen in time. I imagine Frank, sitting in the cafe, almost hiding behind the camera, not wanting to disturb the scene. He might have felt a connection to those flowers, a symbol of life amidst the sometimes harsh realities he often captured. The flowers act as a gentle, transient, still life, contrasting with the gritty urban scenes he’s known for. It reminds me of other artists like Eugène Atget, who documented Paris with such care and attention. Frank is not just recording what's there; he’s revealing a certain emotional truth. It’s like he’s saying, "Even in the midst of the everyday, there's beauty if you just take a moment to see it,". And that quiet observation is something that connects artists across time, each inspiring the next to find meaning in the mundane.