Family--New York City no number 1953

Robert Frank made this photographic work, sometime around the middle of the twentieth century, using gelatin silver on paper. This was a popular, accessible medium, available to almost anyone. As you can see, Frank has left the film roll intact. This emphasizes the way photography captures reality in a series of linear moments. It reminds us that photography is also an industrial product, and we're looking at a record of the labor involved, which is usually erased by the final presentation. The images appear quite intimate. They capture a family in their apartment. But by showing us all the frames together, Frank invites us to think about how such private moments are mediated by the materials and processes of image-making itself. Frank's work insists that materials, making, and context are crucial to understanding an artwork's full meaning, challenging traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.