Guggenheim 581--San Francisco c. 1956

Robert Frank made this photographic contact sheet, Guggenheim 581--San Francisco, using gelatin silver. Here you see a sequence of captured moments, like a painter’s preliminary sketches. Frank isn't trying to hide the nuts and bolts of his process; instead, he is showing you the raw material. The image has a documentary feel, a kind of behind-the-scenes look. Look at the single strip of images showing a motel sign. You get a sense of movement, as the artist, presumably, drives by. In this work the texture, the graininess, and the high contrast come to the fore. The physical process isn't concealed, it’s celebrated! I see some of the deadpan humor of Ed Ruscha here, or the roadside poetry of Walker Evans, both kindred spirits of Frank's. Ultimately, the piece feels less about any fixed statement and more about the messy, exhilarating act of seeing itself.