40 Fotos, page 1 1946

This is page one of 40 Fotos by Robert Frank. It's a sheet of paper, likely from a sketchbook, with Frank's signature and the title written in simple, dark ink. I'm thinking about how this artwork came into being: the artist feeling compelled to create; shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I imagine Robert Frank with his pen, thinking about all of the photographs he would put into this book. What a commitment! What a plan! The book coming into being through the movement of his hand across the page. It’s a quiet, intimate moment before the work of art bursts into life. I'm really struck by the connection and exchange of ideas across time. Frank is here thinking about the role of the artist and what art can do. The artist and the viewer engage with a work of art together. Embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning over fixed or definitive readings.