Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler--Convention 30 1956

Robert Frank’s contact sheet gives us a glimpse into a political convention, likely made with a small handheld camera and lots of energy. It's like a visual poem, the frames marked up with red circles. It makes me think about the act of selection. What to include? What to leave out? It’s full of people, like the best paintings! I’m drawn to the signs reading "Yea, Happy!". The repetition across the frames reminds me of the way Gerhard Richter repeats images, exploring the nuances of difference and similarity, even in something as seemingly straightforward as photography. Frank's marks on the surface remind me of Cy Twombly’s scribbles. Both feel deeply intuitive. The physicality of the marks adds another layer of meaning. Ultimately, Frank reminds us that art is about decisions, intention, and mark-making. The dialogue between artists continues, each influencing the other across time and medium.