Times Square--New York City 6 c. 1961

Curator: Look at this gelatin silver print, "Times Square--New York City 6", it is by Robert Frank, circa 1961. What is your first reaction to this series of frames? Editor: The film strip format initially suggests a kind of behind-the-scenes look. It is less about the decisive moment than the entire contact sheet. Also, the high-contrast monochrome evokes this heavy feeling of urban grit. Curator: Exactly. The entire work emanates a spontaneous aura, akin to fleeting moments caught from life's flow, doesn't it? Frank isn't merely showing Times Square. I mean, the city pulses in each frame—humanity caught mid-stride in an open narrative that the viewer themselves gets to interpret. It’s incredibly exciting! Editor: The modern metropolis. I agree! We can observe post-war alienation here, right? What do you make of Frank choosing to keep the entire strip—complete with edge markings and notations? It challenges notions about a refined art object by placing the focus squarely on the raw visual data. The image becomes the point—less perfect—while revealing what we lose in a world preoccupied by speed, commercialism, and spectacle. Curator: Yes, it pushes me into feeling. And, I wonder what other shots he deemed less significant. Or rather, what criterion guided him toward the selection framed here? I imagine an entire mood-board in itself, allusive yet very immediate—a real slice of NYC, but only as perceived by Frank's uniquely personal angle. Editor: I wonder how his own identity influenced this viewpoint. A Swiss immigrant coming to America with a camera… He turned insider-outsider—commentating on the cultural climate while navigating it. Frank’s work is a key example of art's power as both personal statement and broader commentary. Curator: Well put. I think you just summed it all up with perfection. Editor: Maybe… it’s a lot to think about in only one glance. Thank you!