Family 4 c. 1960 - 1961

Robert Frank made this gelatin silver print, “Family 4”, using contact sheets to give you an intimate look at the process of image-making. What I notice first is the dark lines framing each shot, creating a storyboard effect, like a filmstrip of moments. The contrast is stark, black and white, emphasizing the gritty reality Frank often captured. Look at the bridge in the background, almost ghost-like. The bridge is a constant, a backdrop to the changing expressions of the people in the car, and a metaphor for the journey, the passage of time, or the connections we make. The composition, a grid of moments, suggests an open narrative, inviting us to piece together the story. It's a bit like looking at a sketchbook, raw and immediate, a peek into the artist's thought process. Frank, like many artists such as Gerhard Richter, lets the process show. It invites you to question what you are seeing, what you are looking at, and what art can be.