Venice, Italy 9 1964

Curator: Welcome. Here we have Robert Frank's "Venice, Italy 9," created in 1964. It’s a contact sheet, likely from his travels and photo essays, showing marked frames. Editor: First impression? Organized chaos! The marked squares practically shout. There’s a real energy here, like sifting through memories trying to lasso a story. It makes me curious why Frank chose these specific shots to examine further. Curator: Precisely! The contact sheet format allows us a peek into Frank's editing process. By circling certain images, he reveals his potential interest in their narrative possibilities, maybe what was successful or what required refinement. Editor: I like how immediate it feels. Raw, even. No fancy presentations, just the nuts and bolts of crafting a photograph—decisions being made right before our eyes! Look at all these dark shades of color from a clearly old style film! It even looks as if this print was recently removed from the developing solution. Curator: Exactly. The act of selection becomes art itself. This offers insight to how photographers during the mid-20th century engaged with societal topics in Venice. It is also related to how societal activities of events can create an idea to be shared through imagery. Editor: The dark palette and somewhat crowded scenes almost gives it an unsettling feeling. It’s like an intense summer day mixed with something melancholy or profound just lingering beneath the surface. What I mean by that, you never know who or why a person might choose to document this time in Italy? Is it because it represents peace, serenity, sadness or fear? Curator: I can see that, especially within the social context of the 1960s, a time of immense cultural change. Venice would’ve stood in stark contrast as this almost timeless city undergoing inevitable transformation through modern influences. The contact sheet mirrors this tension, that sense of decisive selection from countless moments, reflecting those transformative ideas. Editor: Thinking about the time frame really shifts the perspective, doesn't it? Makes one question Frank's reasons behind visiting this location. Curator: It most certainly does. Hopefully this image offers insight. Editor: Thanks for the tour of this very busy artwork! I might give up and try my hand at landscape work instead...maybe!