Paris 28B 1951 - 1952

This is Robert Frank’s ‘Paris 28B’, a contact sheet capturing moments in Paris. I'm thinking about Frank wandering the streets, his camera an extension of his eye. Each frame is like a little sketch, an impulse recorded on film. I imagine him watching kids playing in a park, or people gathered, their faces blurred in motion. You can see the grain, the texture of the film itself. It reminds me that photography, like painting, is about capturing light and shadow, but also about time and memory. What I find compelling about this work is its honesty, it captures a sense of reality. It's like he's saying, "Here, look at this. This is what I saw. This is what it felt like." I think that kind of directness is something that painters can learn from—that impulse to capture a moment, a feeling, without overthinking it.