White line--Early New York City 17/Lines of My Hand 13/Black White and Things 20 1951

This photographic contact sheet, *White line--Early New York City*, comes to us courtesy of Robert Frank. It looks like it was made with light, a lens, and a darkroom. The frames are like little windows onto the world, or maybe the inside of Frank's head. What grabs me is the way he lets us see the process. The edges of the film are visible, with all their little numbers and notches. It reminds me of looking at a painter's canvas, complete with drips and underpainting. It’s like he’s saying, "Here it is, the raw material, the stuff I'm working with." There's one frame in the middle, where a reflection fills the windows of a car looking onto the city street. It’s beautiful and confusing all at once. Like a dream you can’t quite grasp. Think of Lee Friedlander and his street photography. They both see the world as a kind of beautiful mess. It is more about the questions, than the answers.