Hollywood 83 1958

Robert Frank made "Hollywood 83," a series of gelatin silver prints, and right away you can see how he embraced the grainy, high-contrast look, which feels very much of its time. There's something about the dark blacks and stark whites that gives everything a real raw feeling, like you're looking at Hollywood through a slightly smudged lens. I am drawn to the way he presents these images in strips like movie film, a direct reference to the nature of the location. Look at the sequence of frames in the middle, where we see people in cars and on the street. The light is harsh, almost blinding in places, creating these really sharp edges. It's not pretty, but it's real. Frank's work reminds me a little of Garry Winogrand, another street photographer who wasn't afraid to show the messy, chaotic side of life. And just like Winogrand, Frank leaves us with more questions than answers, which, to me, is what art is all about.