MacArthur Parade--Early New York City 1 c. 1950 - 1951

Robert Frank made this photograph, MacArthur Parade--Early New York City 1, sometime in the mid-20th century. What I see here is a series of black and white photographic frames arranged on a larger sheet, almost like a storyboard or a contact sheet. The individual images are like fragmented memories of a parade, capturing glimpses of horses, soldiers, and crowds, all in a grainy, high-contrast style. I love how Frank doesn't try to tidy things up; he leaves the film edges visible, the sprocket holes, the little imperfections that remind us of the photographic process itself. There's one frame where it looks like someone marked the film with a pen, right across the image. It’s a reminder that art isn't about perfection, but about capturing a moment, a feeling, a raw slice of life. I’m reminded of Warhol's screen prints, where repetition and imperfection become part of the message. Both artists see value in the accidental and the everyday, elevating it to art. It makes you think about how we construct meaning from fragments, how art invites us to fill in the gaps with our own experiences and interpretations.