Horses--Farming 1941 - 1945

Robert Frank made this photograph, Horses—Farming, and like all photographs, it’s an index of a moment, a record of light hitting film. I imagine Frank stopping the car, or getting out of the car, and pointing his camera at these horses. The light is even, grayed, it's not quite contrast-y. And I wonder, did he take a lot of shots? Was he trying to get something specific? Or was he just like, "That's it. That's the shot." These two horses are performing labor. They seem humble, their heads are drooped. I think about the history of photography and the role of the photographer as witness. I think about Walker Evans and the way he photographed the rural poor. This image somehow relates to that. The horses seem dignified, but also tired, worn out. What does it mean to look at them, and to see their labor, and to see them as part of a system? And what did Robert Frank want us to see?