Highway 40, Delaware 1958

Robert Frank took this photograph, Highway 40, Delaware, with a camera. Look at how the tonality is almost monochromatic but with so many subtle shades. I like the way that the light fixture at the top of the pole almost blooms, as if its organic – like a strange flower. The pole itself has so much texture, which makes you wonder about the surface of the photograph. How does the texture of the paper interact with the image to add to the feeling of the piece? The way that the cinder blocks are arranged at the base is interesting too. Frank has a knack for finding beauty and meaning in the everyday, and there's a definite connection with Walker Evans’ earlier documentary work. But Frank’s images are looser, more personal, suggesting that there is no one way to see or experience the world.