On ship--New York to Paris 6 1949

This contact sheet, by Robert Frank, captures scenes during a voyage from New York to Paris. Frank used a small, handheld camera, a tool of immediacy, to capture these moments on film. Note how the material of the film itself—flexible, light-sensitive, and easily developed—influences the aesthetic. Each frame, a moment captured, gives us glimpses into life aboard the ship. We see both the grandeur of the vessel and the everyday routines of its passengers. Frank's approach democratizes the medium, breaking away from staged portraiture. The raw, unposed nature of these images speaks to the accessibility of photography as a medium. This contact sheet, a record of his process, highlights the labor involved in image-making. Through photography, Frank challenges traditional notions of art, finding beauty in the ordinary and elevating the everyday to the realm of art.