From the bus 9A 1958

Robert Frank shot this piece of photographic film, From the bus 9A, sometime in the middle of the last century. The composition is a series of grainy black and white frames of people on city streets. It's the kind of work that makes you think about what art is, and what it isn't. There's a raw, accidental quality to the images, and it's this material quality that really stays with me. It's as if Frank wanted to capture not just the images, but the feel of the street, the noise and bustle and the way light bounces off buildings. The scratches and imperfections on the film serve a conceptual purpose: they remind us that art is not just about capturing a perfect image, but about embracing the messiness of life. I think the most striking thing about this piece is that there are blue markings on the film, the gesture speaks volumes. It reminds me a little of some of Moholy-Nagy's contact sheets, but it's also very much its own thing, an exploration of the poetics of the street.