Chicago C 1953

This is Robert Frank’s contact sheet, 'Chicago C', and it's made of gelatin silver print on paper. I can imagine Frank in the darkroom, methodically arranging these tiny frames, each a captured moment from the streets of Chicago. It's like a visual diary, a storyboard of fleeting impressions and fragmented narratives. The grainy texture and stark contrast evoke a sense of rawness and immediacy. I feel an intense connection to the materiality of the image itself – the paper, the emulsion, the tangible presence of the artist's hand in the developing process. It reminds me of the way painters like Gerhard Richter use photography as a starting point, blurring the lines between representation and abstraction. Frank's contact sheets invite us to see photography not just as a means of capturing reality, but as a form of artistic expression in its own right. Ultimately, artists like Frank are kindred spirits, forever pushing the boundaries of their chosen medium and inviting us to see the world in new and unexpected ways.