Nixon campaign 15 1960

Editor: So this is Robert Frank’s "Nixon Campaign 15" from 1960. It's a photographic contact sheet, right? Seeing all those little frames together like this, I get this slightly unsettling, voyeuristic vibe. It's like peering through someone else's memories. What's your take on it? Curator: Unsettling is a brilliant word for it. I think Frank was aiming for that. It's a peek behind the political curtain, almost intrusive, capturing unguarded moments. Makes you wonder what’s *really* happening, doesn’t it? Not just in a political campaign, but, like, in life. It’s raw and honest in a way official campaign photography rarely is. Which frame draws your eye the most? Editor: The ones on the bottom. You see Nixon right up close with all those people. What do you think Frank was trying to capture by using a contact sheet, like showing his working process, I guess? Curator: Exactly! He throws the whole polished image thing out the window, which many considered reckless in the 60's. Shows us every click, every nuance. You know, there's this rawness to it, a ‘warts and all’ kind of vulnerability. I feel he almost whispers: look how manufactured an image actually is... do you think the orange and blue crayon markups could indicate what the client liked or disliked? Editor: Hmm, yeah I never thought of it that way. I bet those markups provide hints about image control. It's almost a key to unraveling all the editing! I have never really seen a piece displayed like this, still inside the production phase, usually you see the finished project, selected. Curator: It reminds me how sometimes, the in-between, the mess of creativity, can be as beautiful, or more so, than the ‘finished’ piece. You nailed it – it’s the anti-monument. I appreciate it’s ability to showcase not just what to look at, but how to see. Editor: That makes me think differently about the piece. It felt off, until I understood there was nothing to understand! It's all in there, you just gotta feel the shot! Thank you for that!