Rabbis 1 c. 1950s

This work, "Rabbis 1", is a gelatin silver print made by Robert Frank. Silver gelatin photography depends on a very particular interaction of light, chemistry, and paper, all to capture an image. What's striking here is that Frank hasn't presented us with a perfect, finished print, but rather with a contact sheet, the array of images made in the darkroom to preview the results of a day's shooting. These photographs, arranged in strips, were most likely taken during a demonstration or political action. It's photography as a medium of witnessing and bearing record. The darkroom allows a photographer to manipulate the images, adjusting the exposure, contrast, and composition. By showing us the evidence of this process, Frank pulls back the curtain on the making of the image. It makes us aware of the labor required to create a single photographic artwork, and in so doing, elevates the status of what would normally be considered a mere utilitarian object.