Rock & roll--Alan Freed no number c. 1957

Robert Frank captured this sheet of negatives, titled "Rock & roll--Alan Freed," with his camera. Observe the repetition of faces and bodies, almost a blur of motion. This blurring of the faces and bodies creates an interesting symbolic effect. Crowds in masses are an ancient motif – think of the bacchanals of antiquity, frenzied followers of Dionysus, their ecstatic dances meant to channel divine madness. Here, the young people gather not for a god but for music, yet the emotional intensity is strikingly similar. A mass of people, an entity greater than the sum of its parts, is a symbol that elicits fear and euphoria, and is often associated with the loss of the self in favor of the group’s identity. Throughout history, the idea of communal ecstasy has been represented in art, from religious processions to revolutionary gatherings. Frank’s photographs capture this timeless energy, a psychological dance between individual and collective consciousness. This cyclical return to collective, emotional experience is a powerful echo across time.