Bal des Beaux Arts, Bal des Etudients--Paris 62B 1951 - 1952

Robert Frank made this gelatin silver print, Bal des Beaux Arts, Bal des Etudients--Paris 62B, sometime in the 20th century. What strikes me about this piece is its almost musical quality. Frank strings together these strips of film, each a little window into a moment, layering them like melodies in a song. The stark contrast of black and white gives it this raw, immediate feel, like a memory surfacing from the depths. And then there's that bright blue number scrawled across the frame, a kind of defiant gesture, a bold interruption of the image. It's like he's saying, "This is real, this is now, this is my mark on the world." Looking at these frames, I'm reminded of another photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, but while he sought the decisive moment, Frank seems to embrace the messy, the unfinished, the in-between. It’s this quality that really grabs me, and makes me love this piece. It's a reminder that art isn't about perfection, but about capturing the messy, beautiful truth of being alive.