Slot machines--Elko, Nevada 1956

Robert Frank made this gelatin silver print called ‘Slot machines—Elko, Nevada’. You can see the grain. Frank is interested in how the image comes to be. I wonder what it was like to be Frank, making this. It's black and white; the tonal range is limited, but within that he finds so much nuance. You can feel the weight of that arm leaning on the machine. The tilt of the camera gives you a perspective that feels like it's slightly off balance, which is perfect. It’s a little voyeuristic, like we’re not supposed to be there, like we’re seeing something we shouldn’t. The image embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations rather than fixed meanings. It’s like he’s asking us, “What do you see here? What does it mean to you?” And that's the beauty of Frank, that’s the beauty of painting, too: It's never just one thing.