Guggenheim 717--Lander to Casper, Wyoming 1956

Curator: Today, we’re examining Robert Frank's “Guggenheim 717--Lander to Casper, Wyoming,” a gelatin silver print from 1956. What strikes you initially about this piece? Editor: It feels like a forgotten map—almost a cinematic storyboard for a road trip, capturing moments in transit, moments lived in the everyday American landscape. Each frame tells a little tale, slightly disjointed, slightly gritty. Curator: Indeed, it's presented as a contact sheet, eschewing a singular image for a sequence. The emphasis on the seriality, the grid, it really underlines the structure of photographic narrative, don't you think? There’s repetition of visual elements like that Master-Taxidermist sign and also the road stretching into the distance, offering thematic links… Editor: I’m stuck on that sign! It's so absurd, Master-Taxidermist, boldly proclaimed against this flat, almost barren background. I read it as pure Americana – a little bizarre, definitely memorable, kind of beautiful in its oddness. It highlights a stark individualism and self-reliance, that's common to rural communities. Curator: And note the way Frank utilizes light and shadow. The contrast is stark, lending an almost documentary feel to each frame. The high contrast emphasises a feeling of tension and anxiety so strongly. The composition denies conventional expectations of balanced images...a refusal to be neat? Editor: Yes, there's definitely a nervous energy. Maybe he wanted to strip back any pretense. It's not polished postcard perfection but something rawer. It's the in-between spaces that usually get overlooked – gas stations, diners, the back roads of Wyoming. He spotlights them to tell another truth. Curator: An excellent point! It seems Frank employed photographic sequencing to examine themes of modern life. His decision to showcase every image on the film strip creates meaning from selection and order. This piece challenges viewers to consider the meaning of ‘authenticity’ when applied to representational art. Editor: It makes me think about journeys – both literal and emotional ones. This visual journey along this lonely stretch of American highway has moments of unexpected humor. It makes me wonder: What was Frank searching for out there? And did he find it? Curator: That openness to inquiry might well be Frank's greatest artistic success! Editor: For sure! It reminds us that beauty often resides in the imperfection, in the transient, in the parts that get usually left out.