Peru 4 1948

Robert Frank made this photographic work, Peru 4, using gelatin silver prints on black paper. Looking at these strips of negatives, I can't help but think about the way photography captures light, how it freezes moments in time, and how each frame is part of a longer narrative. It's like the artist is thinking through his material; editing on the hoof. The black and white gives it such a strong, documentary feel, as if we’re looking at some kind of archive or evidence. Each frame offers a glimpse into a different scene, and I wonder about the choices Frank made, what he included, what he left out. There's this cross marked on one of the frames, almost like a painter marking up a canvas to indicate areas of focus or change. It reminds me of the work of someone like Gerhard Richter, whose photo paintings explored the blurred boundaries between photography and painting. With photography, the process is just as important as the final image.