Willem de Kooning 6 1961

Robert Frank's "Willem de Kooning 6" is a photo strip, a cascade of moments frozen in black and white. I can almost feel Frank circling de Kooning, a silent observer, capturing the artist in his habitat. What was de Kooning thinking, I wonder? One image shows him seated at a table with a child, perhaps his daughter. In others, the camera captures him in the act of painting. Frank seems fascinated by the domesticity of the studio, the everyday life of a creative giant. I love how Frank captures the process of observing. The contact sheet allows us to see the artist at work and the photographer at work as well, it is a doubling that I find so appealing. It reminds me that as artists, we're all in this messy, beautiful conversation together, bouncing ideas off each other across time and space. There are circles around particular shots; Frank’s eye directing ours. And so, we look again.