Parade c. 1945

Robert Frank made this photograph, Parade, using black and white film. Look at the way the light catches on the buildings – it almost feels like a sketch, doesn't it? There's something about the graininess, the texture of the image, that pulls you in. It's not about sharp detail; it's about the feeling of being there, in the midst of this crowd. The hats! You can almost feel the jostle of bodies, the energy of the moment. Then there are the architectural lines, so different from the organic shapes of the crowd. The tower in the background, a beacon, in contrast to the density of the anonymous mass in the foreground. Frank wasn't about pretty pictures; he was about capturing a raw, honest slice of life. It's like he's saying, "Here, look at this. Feel it." And you do. It makes me think of Henri Cartier-Bresson's decisive moments, but with a bit more grit. It's a conversation, an ongoing exchange about what it means to see, to document, to feel.