Rose Bowl Parade--Pasadena, California 1956

Robert Frank made this gelatin silver print, "Rose Bowl Parade--Pasadena, California," using a relatively accessible process of the time. Gelatin silver printing was a widely used photographic process involving light-sensitive silver salts and gelatin. This photographic process allowed Frank to capture a moment in time at the Rose Bowl Parade. The image is cropped at an odd angle, highlighting the spectators rather than the spectacle. The material qualities of gelatin silver prints—the tonal range from deep blacks to bright whites, and the smooth surface—enabled Frank to produce an image with sharp contrasts. Frank's use of this process allowed for mass production and distribution of his work. His focus on everyday scenes, like this crowd at a parade, democratized photography, breaking away from the staged and formal portraits traditionally associated with the medium, and connecting it to wider social issues of documentation. The choice of subject challenges distinctions between art and everyday life, making photography more about the captured moment and less about technical perfection.