Crowd before waterfront 1945

Curator: Robert Frank's "Crowd before waterfront" from 1945 is a gelatin silver print capturing a densely packed crowd against a distant body of water. What are your immediate thoughts on it? Editor: My first impression is a feeling of anticipation. There's a mass of people, their faces obscured, all looking towards something just beyond our view. It’s grainy, raw almost, and a bit melancholic in its monochrome. Like a memory fading at the edges. Curator: Indeed. Frank's work here resonates with a kind of post-war realism, stripped bare. Gelatin silver prints allow for a wide tonal range and sharpness, perfect for documenting social landscapes. Consider the labor involved – the darkroom, the chemicals, the physical act of printing. The medium becomes the message, documenting a specific historical process alongside its subject. Editor: That makes me think about accessibility too, something very direct, no pretense about it, I guess. It reminds me a bit of Doisneau. There's a wonderful everyday quality to it that invites reflection, like a poem unfolding as you look deeper. It speaks to collective experiences in the everyday. You can almost hear the low hum of the crowd. Curator: Precisely! And think about the social context—1945. Victory in Europe Day? A return of soldiers? What narratives and tensions lie beneath that compressed gathering? It is interesting also, I find, that this is clearly shot from within the crowd. Editor: Yes, he is right in the thick of things and is capturing his immediate surroundings; it creates a powerful, immersive feel. I am wondering what captured the photographer’s attention. Curator: A testament to the beauty and the constraints within analogue photography. This single shot shows us labor, collective viewing habits, social dynamics, photographic print methods... Editor: You are totally right, it goes well beyond appearances. It truly offers the possibility to consider different perspectives on social encounters. A small, but moving photograph. Curator: Ultimately, Frank provides not just an image but also a fragment of history, captured, processed, and delivered via meticulously crafted material. The layers are really quite incredible here. Editor: Well, it makes you wonder about what remains unseen. As you said, the potential, stories it unlocks; that, to me, makes a good piece of art.