Guggenheim 68/Detroit 10 1955

Robert Frank made this contact sheet, "Guggenheim 68/Detroit 10," using photography. Each frame is like a little window into a moment, a feeling, a place. It's all about process, the way one thing leads to another in life and in art. The grays in these images—the blacks that aren't quite black and the whites that whisper—they give everything a ghostly kind of feel. Look at the red marks Frank made, circling some frames, scratching out others. It's like he's having a conversation with himself, editing, selecting, questioning. In the strip toward the bottom, a diner is shown. Each frame a different customer, or a different angle on the same scene. It reminds me that art isn't about having all the answers, it's about asking the right questions. Frank is like his contemporary, Andy Warhol, capturing the here and now and letting it all hang out. It’s about life, unedited, raw, and beautiful in its messiness.