Bullfight--Spain 14 1952

This is Robert Frank's "Bullfight--Spain 14," a photographic contact sheet printed in black and white. Just imagine Frank, wandering around Spain with his camera, a true documentarian of his time. Here you see his editing process almost laid bare. The little frames, each a potential world. He's got his red grease pencil out, making choices. It reminds me of being in the studio, surrounded by sketches, trying to find the right gesture, the right note. Think about the light, the shadows, the way he frames each shot. It's like he's trying to capture not just the event, but the feeling of being there, the dust, the heat, the tension in the air. And then, that bold red mark—it's like a slash of intuition. We all make such marks on the world.