Die Tiere (Animals) 1-12 1942 - 1946

This is Robert Frank's "Die Tiere," or "Animals," a series of black and white photographs, and what strikes me is the way Frank embraces the grainy texture of the film, making it almost palpable. Each image, a little window into the animal kingdom, is framed with such a casual, off-the-cuff feel that the animals appear caught in their most unguarded moments. Look at the zebra in the upper center. The stripes vibrate with energy, almost blurring against the stark white background, that the image feels almost like a drawing. It's as if Frank is reminding us that art, like life, is messy, imperfect, and all the more beautiful for it. There's a raw, unpolished quality to the images, which aligns Frank with other documentarians who blurred the lines between observer and participant. Think of someone like Garry Winogrand, who also saw the poetry in the everyday chaos of the street. Art isn’t about finding definitive answers but is about living with uncertainty.