Subway no number 1955

This is Robert Frank's "Subway no number," a photographic contact sheet. It’s a patchwork of moments, a collection of captured glances in the urban sprawl. The grayscale palette has this raw, grainy texture, giving it an almost tactile feel. Frank's process seems intuitive, immediate, with each frame telling its own little story. What strikes me is how he uses the film strip itself as part of the composition, framing these snippets of life. Look at the top row, you can see people reading newspapers, so caught up in their own worlds. It's like Frank is saying something about our disconnectedness, even in a crowded space. There is something about the way he lets the edges of the images bleed and blur which reminds me a little of the painter Gerhard Richter. Both artists make art which captures the way the world looks when you are travelling through it, and your view is obscured by the movement. Frank's work, like all great art, it’s more about asking questions than providing answers.