Early New York City no number c. 1949 - 1951

This photograph, 'Early New York City no number', was made by Robert Frank sometime in his early career. What you see is not a single image, but strips of film, contact sheets, the raw material of photography, presented as the final work. The physical reality of the film is very present. Each frame is a moment, a slice of time, but here Frank gives us the outtakes, the attempts, the flow of images before they are edited into something concise. It shows a restlessness, a desire to capture something fleeting and real about the city. Look at the way Frank includes frames with blur and motion. Each individual frame is like a brushstroke. The dust and scratches, the uneven development, the visible edges of the film – these all become part of the image. It reminds me a bit of the way Cy Twombly layered marks and scribbles to create this feeling of something raw and alive. It’s like Frank is saying, "Here’s the whole messy, beautiful process."