San Yu and an unidentified woman--Paris 52B 1951 - 1952

Robert Frank made this black and white photograph entitled 'San Yu and an unidentified woman--Paris 52B' sometime in the mid-twentieth century, using film. The contact sheet aesthetic makes me think about how the artistic process is never a singular event, but one of choosing, editing, and reconsidering. The gritty textures in this piece, especially in the street scenes, give it a raw, documentary feel, as if we're right there with Frank, experiencing Paris through his lens. You see the use of red and blue marker too, scribbled right onto the surface. It's like Frank is having a conversation with his own work, marking out the shots that resonate with him, maybe the ones he'd consider printing or sharing. The scribbled marks are so interesting, because this is where he gets to assert himself in the work. It reminds me of Rauschenberg, or Cy Twombly, or even the way Basquiat layered words and images to create these palimpsests of meaning. It is about revealing the creative process as much as the final image. It embraces ambiguity, leaving space for us to interpret and connect with the work on our own terms.