Filmen (Filming) 59-68 1942

Curator: My eye is immediately drawn to the contrast of light and dark; it creates a very dramatic effect, almost theatrical, even ominous. Editor: Indeed. What we have here is Robert Frank's "Filmen (Filming) 59-68," dating back to 1942. It's a gelatin-silver print showcasing scenes seemingly related to a circus performance. Looking at this work, it is not merely a documentary but a social critique about spectatorship, spectacle, and even control. Curator: Control, yes. The circus environment itself is so rich in symbolic layers; the trained animals, the ringmaster. Can we speak to that, the recurrence of such symbolism? Editor: Certainly. From ancient Rome onward, circuses and performances involving animals were imbued with ideas of mastery and conquest. Here, under the glaring lights, animals such as the elephants seem to act under duress, becoming potent symbols for power dynamics. The recurring light in each scene reminds one of authority—a means of controlling the space and subjects. Curator: It's fascinating how this links to theories about labor and the gaze; consider Foucault's "Panopticism." Each scene presents a discrete form of spectacle, contained, controlled and illuminated. We, as the viewers now, mimic the circus audience, endlessly observing the subjugated. Editor: Yes, and one can even draw parallels to the psychological symbolism tied to these animals: the elephant, typically emblematic of wisdom and memory, here seemingly put on display for amusement. Its powerful, dignified nature is now subjugated within the framework of public entertainment. The individual photographs form a type of sequential cultural narrative, each carrying different symbols within a shared power dynamic. Curator: Looking at the work again through this lens, it's a pointed commentary. We’re invited not just to witness, but to interrogate, who and what we celebrate in these controlled displays. Editor: It prompts reflection beyond simple spectacle, suggesting far broader applications about exploitation of the other for purposes of entertainment and perhaps financial benefit. Curator: Frank truly encapsulated something profoundly unsettling. Editor: Leaving a legacy we continue to dissect and debate.