Guggenheim 389--Gallup, New Mexico 1955

This contact sheet, Guggenheim 389—Gallup, New Mexico, comes to us from the great Robert Frank, made using his Leica camera. It’s a collection of moments, little slices of life, strung together like beads on a necklace. Frank wasn't interested in pretty pictures. His images are grainy, blurry, off-kilter. He embraced the messiness of real life, like a painter who lets the drips and splatters become part of the finished work. He was interested in the stories that these images told, the sense of alienation and loneliness that he saw in America. Look at the car, circled in red. It’s a recurring motif, almost like a character in a play. It's a symbol of freedom, but also of isolation. I always think of Garry Winogrand when I look at Frank's work, especially Winogrand's street photography. Both artists had this knack for capturing the fleeting, ephemeral moments that most people miss. Art is about seeing the world in a new way. It's about finding beauty in the unexpected, and truth in the mundane.