Early New York City 6 1950

Robert Frank's "Early New York City 6" captures the city's pulse through the raw, material quality of photographic film. The artwork's appearance is intrinsically linked to its medium. Frank used a handheld camera, capturing everyday life in a gritty, spontaneous style. The images presented in strips of film speak to the industrial processes that underpin photography itself – the mass production of film, the mechanical act of shooting, the chemical development in the darkroom. Frank’s images are not slick or polished, but they hold a mirror up to society. The film strips also visually resemble factory production lines. They reflect labor, class, and consumption in postwar America. By embracing the inherent qualities of the medium and the techniques employed, Frank blurred the lines between documentary and art, challenging traditional notions of what photography could be.