Mary in park--New York City no number 1954

This is Robert Frank’s photo-strip “Mary in park - New York City no number.” Look at this single gelatin silver print from an entire roll of film. Wow, it makes me think about what it's like when a painter makes studies, moving around an idea, trying to capture something in real time. I imagine Robert Frank roaming through Central Park, thinking about Mary and just shooting. I’m especially drawn to those frames where he gets closer to Mary, focusing on her face. The way he frames her face, soft and blurry, with this kind of directness, well, it kind of reminds me of Alice Neel, doesn’t it? Like painters, photographers capture ephemeral moments, turning lived reality into images. It shows us how one person, a city, and an encounter can become a portrait.