Times Square--New York City 7 c. 1961

Curator: Looking at Robert Frank's "Times Square--New York City 7" from around 1961, presented as a contact sheet...it strikes me with such immediacy, almost like a visual poem of urban life. Editor: A poem perhaps wrought in shades of grey. It looks cold, metallic even. I’m curious about the paper, the development process—the grain feels heavy, intentional. It certainly reflects the grit of Times Square. Curator: That grain absolutely enhances the feeling of alienation, the visual language really amplifying the sense of postwar anxiety that permeated so much art and film. The figures are often blurred, fleeting...symbols of anonymity within the modern city. Editor: You see anxiety; I see the fingerprints of industry. These aren’t just captured moments, they're tangible imprints. Frank wasn't simply taking photos, he was engaged in a physical, chemical process, creating a relic as much as an image. The film itself is the material record of this time and place. Curator: Yes, and look at how he returns to the subject again and again – the pedestrian in the rain with the umbrella. Consider that umbrella, as a symbol! Protection, yes, but also isolation. Notice its similarity to other curved shapes that suggest the all-seeing eye that never sleeps... Editor: All those frames arranged linearly, exposing the editing process. Each image is a commodity, chosen, and arranged for viewing – and sale. This reminds us photography, like every art form, involves selecting, framing, and manipulating material reality. Curator: It speaks to how he wrestled with themes of displacement and detachment. By emphasizing these mundane moments, he revealed a much deeper collective feeling. The constant observation speaks volumes. Editor: He took photographs like some take inventory, almost... And for that alone, the sheer volume produced, there is so much labor invested and, maybe, more truthfully observed. Curator: Thinking about those symbols now, viewed through the lens of history, illuminates layers of meaning within those ordinary streets. Editor: Absolutely. Considering the raw materials, labor, and process, alongside its urban subject, helps us unpack and contextualize what we feel when looking at this striking image.