Mombasa and Nairobi--Africa 2 1964

Editor: This is Robert Frank's "Mombasa and Nairobi--Africa 2" from 1964, a contact print photograph. The first thing I notice is the layered effect from seeing all the different frames. There's a sort of "snapshot" diary feel. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a raw, unfiltered glimpse into Frank's travels in Africa. You said "snapshot diary" and that resonates. These contact sheets – especially presented like this – reveal the artist's thought process, his eye searching, selecting moments. What does that raw, searching feel evoke for you? Editor: A sense of immediacy. I guess it's interesting that the contact sheet becomes the final work rather than just the process, allowing us into what he decides to look at closer... So it feels kind of intimate in a way. Why choose to present it like this? Curator: Precisely! You’re hitting on something crucial. By showing us the entire contact sheet, Frank democratizes the photographic process, inviting us to participate in the selection and interpretation. There is no separation anymore, it almost becomes an ethnography of himself. I can almost feel myself sitting in the darkroom along side Frank! Are there particular images within the grid that call to you more than others? Editor: I keep going back to the rows with the kids, maybe they are in a school hallway, the repetition makes me question their circumstances or whether the space provides them a real safe place to learn. Curator: Absolutely, and isn’t it striking how these individual moments, seen together, amplify each other, creating a powerful commentary. It seems like Robert Frank challenges us to seek meaning in the everyday, to value the beauty and complexities of the seemingly ordinary! This "snapshot diary" is worth another look. Editor: I agree. It really reframes my idea of what a "finished" photograph can be!