Elaine de Kooning and Kaldis at loft--Early New York City no number 1953

This is a contact sheet made by Robert Frank that captures Elaine de Kooning with Kaldis in a New York loft. Frank’s work has this way of documenting a scene, but also of exposing the nature of the photographic process itself. Here, the strips of 35mm film show us a sequence of moments, each frame a slightly different take on the same scene, like a painter making studies. The grain and high contrast are so evocative of that era, it feels immediate. The scratches and dust on the film are left in, adding to the sense of immediacy and unpretentious documentation. Look at the way the light flares around the edges of some frames, and casts stark shadows. It's so casual but also purposeful. There’s a looseness to Frank's method, and it resonates with the way Elaine de Kooning approached painting: with energy, intuition, and a real sense of the moment. I think that is what he captured. Much like the work of Helen Levitt, who explored the poetics of city life in her street photography, the composition is so unique and is so deeply influential.