Chicago B 1953

Robert Frank's "Chicago B" presents us with a contact sheet, a collection of small, raw glimpses of urban life captured through his lens. Frank, a Swiss immigrant, embarked on a cross-country journey in the 1950s that resulted in his seminal book, "The Americans". This work was deeply influenced by the post-war mood of alienation and the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. We are witnesses to urban scenes, and glimpses of mid-century cars, all presented in Frank’s signature, unvarnished style. The mundane is elevated, and the overlooked becomes a subject worthy of our attention. Frank didn't aim to beautify or romanticize America; instead, he shows us a society wrestling with its identity and its promises. There is a feeling of detached observation, as if Frank is both an insider and an outsider, acutely aware of the cultural currents shaping the nation. "Chicago B," with its gritty aesthetic, is a document of a particular time. It evokes questions about who is seen and who is ignored, whose stories are told, and whose are left in the shadows.