Switzerland 1 1961

Robert Frank made this contact sheet, Switzerland 1, using traditional photographic techniques. What strikes me is the raw and immediate quality – the gritty blacks and whites that he’s known for. I’m drawn to the frames marked in red. Look at the contrast between the sharp focus of some images and the blurriness of others. Like in painting, these material qualities have an emotional heft. Frank isn’t afraid to leave in the imperfections, the graininess, the accidental light flares. There’s a tension here between intention and accident, which mirrors the chaotic beauty of real life. Frank's willingness to embrace the imperfect connects his work to that of photographers like William Klein. Both artists invite us to see the world not as a polished ideal, but as a raw, unfiltered experience. Art is like life that way, full of unexpected turns, never quite fitting into neat little boxes.