Convention 3 1956

Robert Frank made this black and white photograph, ‘Convention 3,’ using gelatin silver print. Looking at the sequencing here, I can almost feel Frank's presence, flitting from moment to moment. It's like he's saying, "Here, look at this, and then this," guiding our eye through the frenetic energy of a political convention. You get a sense of the build-up, the anticipation, and maybe a touch of the absurd. I wonder if Frank was thinking about Weegee, who also captured the raw energy of public life? There's a similar sense of immediacy, a feeling that you're right there in the thick of it. Photography, like painting, is about editing, choosing what to include and what to leave out. It’s the selection, the framing, that really shapes our understanding, and Frank certainly knew how to do that. The contact sheet becomes a canvas for exploration, a space where meaning multiplies.