A Musical About Me 1970 - 1971

Robert Frank made this photographic filmstrip, "A Musical About Me", sometime in the last century. He was a master of capturing fleeting moments and the grit of everyday life. Here, the repetition of frames gives the work a rhythmic quality, like a musical score or a storyboard. Look closely at the way Frank plays with light and shadow; how it dances across the faces, creating a sense of depth and texture. The high contrast adds a certain drama, a starkness that's characteristic of his work. My eye keeps getting drawn to the woman with the cascading hair, her image repeated like a chorus, weaving in and out of the other figures. It reminds me a little of Andy Warhol’s screen prints; that same interest in seriality and the blurring of individual identity. But Frank's feels rawer, more personal. Ultimately, like any good work of art, it's a mirror reflecting our own stories and experiences.