Guggenheim 745--Indianapolis 1956

Robert Frank created this contact sheet, Guggenheim 745--Indianapolis, using gelatin silver print. It's a kind of mapping of time, like a musical score, with silences in between. The black and white image is built from moments and gestures. Look at the texture – the grain of the film, the scratches, the way the light falls across the surface. You can almost feel Frank in the darkroom, making decisions, cropping, and arranging. Each frame is a tiny world, but together, they create a larger story. I'm drawn to the frame highlighted with a red box. It is a kind of painting using light and shadow, evoking a sense of intimacy, but also distance. It reminds me of the work of Garry Winogrand who, like Frank, captured the energy of the street with a raw, unfiltered eye. Ultimately, the meaning of this piece isn't fixed. It changes with each viewer, each viewing.