Various family S1 c. 1949 - 1950

This is a photo by Robert Frank, "Various family S1", and it’s a contact sheet, which is like a painter's sketchbook page. Frank didn't conceal the process here. It's all laid bare, the whole shebang! I'm drawn to the middle rows of images, where we see a young woman, perhaps a teenager, in what looks like a communion dress. The different shots, and her varying postures, remind me of the awkwardness and vulnerability of that age. Look at how Frank allows the edges of the film to remain visible, with all the little numbers, and the scrawled notes. It’s like he’s saying, “Here it is, folks, the raw stuff of life, unedited and unfiltered.” I love this, it's Frank embracing the messy, imperfect nature of artmaking. Robert Frank's work, especially "The Americans," influenced countless artists. You can also think of Garry Winogrand, another street photographer who wasn't afraid to just point and shoot and deal with the beautiful mess of it later.