Parade--New York City D c. 1957 - 1958

Robert Frank made this photographic work, Parade--New York City D, using gelatin silver on paper. Rather than presenting a perfectly resolved image, Frank foregrounds the means of production. Here, the artist is not just presenting us with a photograph, but the film strip itself – a sequence of images, some marked with grease pencil to indicate his preferred shots. The very materiality of the film is laid bare, reminding us of the labor and decision-making involved in crafting a seemingly spontaneous image. Frank’s approach isn’t about hiding the process, but revealing it, allowing us to see the layers of selection and the inherent imperfections of the medium. By showing the film strips, Frank is highlighting the photographic process and hinting at the narrative that emerges from the arrangement of images. Frank challenges traditional notions of photographic perfection, instead emphasizing the importance of the photographic process.