Wales 48 1953

This is Robert Frank’s “Wales 48,” a contact sheet of black and white photographs. The sequencing and arrangement are key here. Frank treats the act of photography as a fluid process. Looking at the surface, you see the raw materiality of the photographic process. The emulsion feels almost tactile, you can see every detail, every scratch, every blemish. The high contrast adds to this rawness, lending the images a stark, documentary feel. It is not clear if the red markings are from the photographer or a later editor. They add a layer of removal and ambiguity to the images. Take the frame with the figures standing in the landscape; the composition is loose, a bit haphazard, but this is where the magic lies. Think of Cartier-Bresson and his "decisive moment," but here, Frank's moments feel more provisional, like sketches or notations. It is the provisional, documentary feel of these images that makes this piece sing. I think of Helen van Meene’s portraits which share a similar provisional and accidental composition. It is these images that allow for ambiguity and multiple interpretations.