Cowboys no number 1954

Robert Frank created this contact sheet, "Cowboys no number" sometime in the mid-20th century using black and white photography. It's a real window into his process. You know, a contact sheet is not supposed to be the art, but here it really is! I love how raw it is. The rough edges and the way the images are just there, almost like a series of sketches. There are layers of dark blacks, and bright whites, all mashed together. Look at the middle strips, the jumble of bodies and kit, it is hard to tell what's what. It's a really physical thing, photography, and this makes that so apparent. It reminds me a bit of the way Cy Twombly would layer marks and text in his paintings, not quite legible, not quite abstract. Art doesn’t have to be neat and tidy, you know? It can be messy, ambiguous, and still say something profound.