From the bus 14 1958

Robert Frank made this contact sheet, From the bus 14, using gelatin silver print, and you can see the artist’s hand is present in the marking and selection of certain images. Photography is often understood as a medium of perfect, objective representation, but here, Frank is thinking through making by choosing. The material itself, the photographic film, presents us with a series of images, each a moment caught in time. The texture of the film is smooth, and the images are sharp. He draws our attention to certain images with red marker - they seem important. Looking at the sheet as a whole, I'm drawn to how Frank is not trying to conceal the process. The selection reminds me of the work of another photographer, Garry Winogrand, in its interest in capturing fleeting moments of everyday life. Ultimately, Frank’s contact sheet embraces the ambiguity of seeing and the multiple possibilities inherent in the photographic process.