Paris 81B 1951 - 1952

This is “Paris 81B” by Robert Frank, who was born in 1924 and died in 2019. This piece is made up of small photographs shot on film. Imagine the artist walking around Paris. I know what it’s like to wander around a city looking for something. But what? What does Robert Frank want us to see? The photographs are like quick sketches. They are grainy and dark. They have the feel of trial and error – a kind of searching. Then there’s the blue marker scrawled across the film strip. It’s so casual, like a note to himself, or maybe to the printer. It reminds me of Cy Twombly’s graffiti-like marks. What a funny gesture to add to a photograph. He makes me think about the beauty of the everyday.