Red Grooms' studio no number 1962

Editor: This photomontage, titled "Red Grooms' studio no number" by Robert Frank, was created in 1962. Seeing it as a full strip of film really gives a sense of candid, fleeting moments, but I'm curious – what does this assembly of images say to you? Curator: This piece offers an intimate look into the creative sphere of Red Grooms, but on a broader plane, it asks interesting questions about the performativity of artistic labor and the very nature of artistic identity, wouldn’t you say? Think about how photography itself, especially in the 1960s, was challenging conventional notions of artmaking. Editor: In what way? Curator: Photography, at this time, was often excluded from the canon, or fine art sphere. It also calls to mind questions about who is doing the work of the artist. How is their identity wrapped in social or class assumptions? Is the artist captured the persona the public imagines, or are there gender, race and social undercurrents at play? I always ask my students, 'how do we make art accessible, and question power structures when studying images?' Editor: So by presenting these different angles of the artist at work, Robert Frank reveals or perhaps subverts the mythology around the solitary artistic genius? Curator: Exactly! And how does it play with voyeurism? Who holds power in that act of image-making? Who benefits? Whose story is being told? This lens encourages critical examination of authorship and spectatorship. Editor: It’s a fascinating glimpse, offering more layers than initially meet the eye. It reminds me of later considerations of artists looking to expose societal tensions. Curator: Agreed. I also believe this analysis emphasizes the important political work images carry within our lives. I think about representation and how the artistic image shapes our society every day!