Westlake, California 1956

This black and white photograph of Westlake, California, was taken by Robert Frank. The eye travels over a dark wooden fence, and beyond to the houses perched behind, catching a glimpse of a garden in-between. I imagine Frank searching through his viewfinder, trying to find a story in the everyday. He’s leaning in, finding beauty in the ordinary, just like those Ashcan painters a century earlier. It feels like he’s saying: Look at this street, this place, this moment. It's not spectacular, but it's real. The light in the photograph seems soft, like a faded memory. It reminds me of the grainy texture of early film, how it captures a feeling more than a perfect image. It’s like he's saying, hey, this is life, imperfect and beautiful. And that’s where the art is, right?