Guggenheim 1/Americans 6--Savannah, Georgia Possibly 1955

Robert Frank made this contact sheet, Guggenheim 1/Americans 6--Savannah, Georgia, using photographic film, sometime during his career. What strikes me first about this piece is how Frank leaves all the shots on the film reel, together, unedited. It’s an insight into his process. We see how he looks for images – multiple takes of similar scenes on the beach. He is circling and waiting for the right combination of elements to fall into place. This feels a lot like painting. The textures are all determined by the film, the grain, the development, and printing processes. The darks feel rich and the highlights stark. And look at the red pen circling some of the images – like a painter’s sketch on canvas. Frank is literally drawing our attention, inviting us to look closer, suggesting a sequence. You get the sense that Frank is having a conversation with himself about what to include and exclude. The honesty of Frank’s process reminds me a bit of Garry Winogrand’s similar approach. It’s all about experimentation, about making and looking.