Guggenheim 145--New York City 1956 - 1957

Editor: This is Robert Frank's "Guggenheim 145--New York City," created between 1956 and 1957, a gelatin-silver print showing frames from a roll of film. It's quite striking— almost like a contact sheet, revealing the artist's process. What catches your eye, what stories do you think it tells? Curator: What’s compelling is Frank’s disruption of photographic conventions. In an era when photography aspired to objectivity, Frank exposes its inherent subjectivity. The unedited film strip makes visible the act of seeing, selecting, and framing reality, suggesting that photographic truth is always constructed, influenced by the photographer's perspective and the social context that shapes it. Do you agree that including all frames creates an element of storytelling? Editor: Yes, absolutely! The viewer pieces together a fragmented narrative. Knowing Frank often critiqued American society, could the fragmented images represent a fractured American Dream? Curator: Precisely! Frank challenges the idealized imagery prevalent in mainstream media of the 1950s. He uses the visual language of the street, a visual record marked by stark contrasts and unsettling juxtapositions, to capture the unease beneath the surface of postwar American affluence, a critical view aligned with artistic movements that challenge political narratives. Notice also how he makes visible the means of his production— the film edge itself. What effect does this have? Editor: That’s a great question. Perhaps to emphasize the “realness” of what he's capturing? I also see that there are little red crosses in two of the images, that means he dismissed these pictures. Curator: Yes, that gives a powerful meta commentary. He is in fact dismissing himself as someone curating life. Do you see other marks of self awareness and political commentary here? Editor: This work really highlights the power of the artist’s hand, even in photography, to shape perception. Curator: Exactly! Frank's "Guggenheim 145--New York City" challenges viewers to critically examine the constructed nature of photographic representation, pushing the boundary, an echo to history in our age of image manipulation. Editor: Thank you! I’ll definitely view photography with more critical consideration moving forward.