Central casting--Hollywood 69 1958

Robert Frank made this contact sheet, titled Central Casting--Hollywood 69, to show a range of photographic exposures in monochrome. You can see the artist at work here, problem-solving and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Isn’t that what artmaking is about? What was Robert Frank thinking when he decided which images to cross out in red pen? He was probably trying to decide on the best shot, and there are a bunch of photos of men in suits. Maybe the artist was looking for a certain arrangement, or a certain way to crop the image. Maybe it had to do with the lighting. I wonder, what are those little circles? And do they mean something different from that big X? For me, this piece speaks to the artist’s wider practice and body of work, where you can see the photographer experimenting with exposures, looking to see what would create the most striking image. And this is something he shares with other photographers. Artists often work with ideas and methods that build on each other. It’s an ongoing conversation. Looking at art, we are invited to explore the different ways of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world.