Guggenheim 481--Twentieth Century Fox film studio, Burbank, California 1956

Curator: Looking at this entire contact sheet, the greyscale just leaps out. It feels both stark and strangely intimate. Editor: We’re looking at “Guggenheim 481—Twentieth Century Fox film studio, Burbank, California”, a 1956 photograph by Robert Frank. It offers a fascinating look behind the scenes of Hollywood’s Golden Age. I think Frank aimed for this intimate perspective and he clearly chose a 35mm camera so that he could catch life, as it happened, a fly on the wall approach to photojournalism if you like. Curator: It feels almost like spying, in the best way. The images, especially those illuminated, appear vibrant, capturing the lively setting and atmosphere from back then, contrasting with other photographs, seemingly ordinary or commonplace. Each shot reveals a different angle or depth, so one might be drawn to deciphering which scenes or individuals stand out amongst the collective imagery here. Editor: What's interesting, of course, is how film strips inherently create a narrative – a before, during, and after, even if the reality was far more fragmented. Curator: Right! These sequences of the Hollywood lifestyle scenes evoke some emotional, evocative stories... Maybe it even explores how memory can work – fragmented, with certain moments and individuals amplified by a sense of scale. Editor: Definitely. You get a real sense of how tightly controlled studio filmmaking was – or at least, was attempting to be! It's all about constructing an image. In some of the shots the lighting is intense on set. Even the people feel a little constructed to fulfill roles. This almost creates a feeling that the photo resembles real film which leads into the sense that people were 'cast' for daily life at the studio... How poignant! Curator: It certainly presents reality as anything but straightforward and simple. Editor: The fact it’s a contact sheet feels relevant, too. These weren't necessarily meant to be viewed by the public – we’re seeing Frank’s working process, his choices... almost as if we have somehow gained exclusive access to Robert Franks working journey and decisions. Curator: It’s funny how images of image-making hold such fascination. Editor: Yes, layers upon layers... of stories about stories about stories... Curator: And so we start unraveling that film tapestry – ready to discover which characters speak to each viewer. Editor: Beautiful. A timeless tale captured within a single photographic narrative.