Willem de Kooning 12 1961

This photographic work, "Willem de Kooning 12" by Robert Frank, looks like a contact sheet, all greyscale, shadowy glimpses into a moment, or a series of moments. I feel like I'm watching something in a dark room under a safelight as the image slowly appears. I can imagine Frank, in his darkroom, shuffling through strips of film, trying to find the right shot, or maybe just looking for something to spark an idea. What's he looking for? Something he's seen, a memory? What was Frank thinking when he made this? I see a figure recurring in each frame, is that de Kooning? There’s a raw, almost accidental quality here – like a painter's sketchbook page, full of starts, stops, and revisions. It's a reminder that art-making is often about the messy, imperfect process of searching and experimenting. I see the work of other painters here, other photographers...we are all in conversation.