23rd Street weddings--New York City no number c. 1953 - 1954

Curator: This is a contact sheet by Robert Frank, “23rd Street weddings—New York City,” taken around 1953-54, gelatin silver print. Editor: It’s interesting seeing all the shots together like this. The material is the contact sheet itself, I see the images of a wedding but what should I be paying attention to? Curator: Well, the contact sheet, as a material object, reveals a lot about Frank's process. He isn't just presenting the final polished image, but the raw, almost industrial, selection of photographs that reflect labor behind the ‘decisive moment’. Consider how mass production influenced not just the subject matter—weddings, a social ritual—but also the photographic process itself. Editor: So, the way he printed the photographs affects how we consider the image? I would've expected him to showcase only a perfectly printed photograph! Curator: Precisely! By showing us the contact sheet, Frank directs our gaze towards the means of production. How does this present a kind of democratization, if not demystification, of photography? Where does “craft” come into this kind of automated printing that seems more like it’s from a factory line? Editor: It definitely emphasizes the mechanical aspects of taking and producing photos, which can sometimes get glossed over. I can see how that makes a point about mass production. So it reflects labor and the production process that has an industrial quality... Thanks. I see weddings differently now. Curator: Think about how photographic technology enabled artists to capture and reflect the rapidly changing, often commercialized, face of mid-20th century life. This is also a raw and authentic approach and representation of wedding production. The whole contact sheet shows us a larger process, not just the singular iconic image.