Children and family 1A 1951

Robert Frank created this gelatin silver print, "Children and family 1A," sometime in the twentieth century. What strikes me about this piece is how Frank lets us see the raw material of his artistic process. The photograph isn't just the final image, but the whole film strip, complete with its sprocket holes and frame numbers. Looking closely, you can almost hear the click and whir of the camera. Each frame offers a slightly different angle or expression, a variation on a theme. Notice how the grayscale tones lend a timeless quality, a sense of intimacy. Your eye is drawn to the texture of the film itself, the subtle graininess. There's a vulnerability in exposing these ‘failed’ images. It reminds me a bit of what painters do when they leave their process visible. Think of Gerhard Richter, who also embraced chance and imperfection. Frank seems to be saying that the journey, the act of seeing and recording, is as important as the destination.