Puerto Rico 1 1959

Robert Frank made this gelatin silver print, "Puerto Rico 1" sometime in the mid to late twentieth century. The work presents a series of sequential images, a film strip of a woman swimming in the ocean. I imagine Frank, standing on the shore, clicking away, trying to capture something essential. It's all there: the vastness of the ocean, the smallness of the swimmer, the way the light hits the water. The film itself is like a canvas, each frame a brushstroke. I wonder if Frank felt like he was swimming, too, diving into the depths of feeling. It’s not just a record; it’s an interpretation. You know, artists are always talking to each other, even across time. Frank’s photographic sequences remind me of the way painters like Muybridge explored motion, breaking down movement into still frames. It’s all about seeing, feeling, trying to make sense of this crazy, beautiful world. Each frame in this strip is a conversation about what it means to be alive.