Cables, NBC TV studio--Burbank, California c. 1955 - 1956

Robert Frank made this photograph, “Cables, NBC TV studio—Burbank, California”, using, I suppose, a camera. When I look at this image, it feels like peering behind the scenes, or maybe at the mess behind all of the TV shows. Look at this tangle of cables taking up the foreground! They are like thick dark brushstrokes, swirling and chaotic, contrasting the stark light of the wall on the right. I feel for Frank here, drawn to the discarded and overlooked—a pile of forgotten cables in a studio corner. Maybe he was waiting and took this shot just to pass the time. It's so casual, yet deliberate in its composition. Frank really looked at the everyday. The surface, the texture of the floor, the shadows... all these elements speak to the unglamorous reality behind the scenes. It's a reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places, inviting us to see beauty in the mundane. It’s almost as if he is implying: “I’m not going to miss this thing, it might be important”.