Subway no number 1955

This is Robert Frank's photographic work, "Subway no number" printed on a sheet. Looking at the contact sheet, you sense the artist trying to isolate a moment, or a feeling, in the busy public space. Frank is editing. There are multiple angles of similar subjects. Some upside down. Perhaps the artist's way of looking at the world differently, or inverting the status quo. When printing a contact sheet, you want to see it all, in order to select an image to enlarge. It's a way of reviewing your work, like sketches in a sketchbook. The close-up of hands typing could be anybody, and it speaks to me of everyday labor and the way we touch the world with our hands. The multiple images of travelers might be about the collective experience of living in a city. It reminds me that art is an exchange between artists across time. Each artist responds and builds on what came before, shaping our understanding of art and life itself.