Embarkation 10 1957

Robert Frank made 'Embarkation 10', a gelatin silver print on paper, sometime during his lifetime. This piece has a documentary feel, but it's also fragmented, like a memory. The contact sheet shows us the artist's selection process, and I find this so interesting. It's all about black and white – stark contrasts, deep shadows. It feels like Frank is embracing the accidental, the imperfect. Look at the strip near the bottom where the camera is looking up through the curved roof of a vehicle, it's distorted and claustrophobic. Frank's work reminds me a little bit of Garry Winogrand, in that he had this ability to find beauty in the everyday. He reminds us that art is not about perfection; it’s about process, about seeing, and about feeling. It leaves you with more questions than answers, which, in my opinion, is a good thing.