Ben James, Wales 1953

Robert Frank’s photograph, Ben James, Wales, is a silver print; it’s a gritty, grainy, documentary style image. I think about Frank standing there, camera in hand, trying to capture this moment of workers who are covered in coal dust. It feels like a hard, brutal, existence. What was Frank thinking as he pointed his lens? Was he trying to find the beauty amidst the grime? Was it for the record? Was he hoping to find a way to move people? This photograph, with its imperfections and raw honesty, reminds me of the work of other artists, like Jacob Lawrence, who sought to capture the lives and struggles of working-class people. Frank's decision to embrace the imperfect and the real is a powerful reminder that artists are constantly in dialogue, responding to each other's visions and pushing the boundaries of what art can be. The meaning is elusive, but the feeling is real.