Technician, NBC TV studio--Burbank, California c. 1955 - 1956

This silvery gelatin print by Robert Frank captures a TV technician in Burbank, California. The image offers a glimpse into the world of early television production. Look at the way Frank has arranged a composition out of the ordinary activity of the studio. The technician is up on a ladder seemingly adjusting equipment, caught in the act. We get a strong sense of what it must have felt like to be Frank there in the studio, observing all the controlled chaos. In the image, there is a dominant foreground camera. Its hulking form seems to dwarf the technician, which creates an intriguing contrast between the human element and technological apparatus. I feel the artist is trying to show us something about the nature of art and human experience amid the machinery of modern media. It is amazing to see a photographer make an image out of an image-making machine.