Black, White and Things 25/Lines of My Hand 10--Macy's parade no number 1947

Robert Frank made this grid of photographs, Black, White and Things 25, likely in the mid-twentieth century. It's like a sketchbook page, full of starts and stops, and the restless energy of street photography. I’m picturing Frank with his camera, chasing light and shadow, trying to catch the fleeting moments of a parade. Each frame is a little experiment, some dark and blurry, others sharp and clear. The high contrast enhances the grittiness of the urban scene. It makes me think about the way the world is chaotic and composed all at once. You can see the parade unfolding, with crowds, buildings, and a giant balloon. The repetition of these elements creates a rhythm, but it’s interrupted by abstraction. Did you notice how the individual images relate to one another formally? Frank was a master of capturing the raw, unfiltered reality of American life. He shows us that art doesn’t always have to be perfect to be powerful. It can be messy, imperfect, and still deeply moving.