Circus, Zurich c. 1946

Curator: Robert Frank’s "Circus, Zurich," taken around 1946, captures a desolate view behind the scenes of a circus. It's a gelatin silver print, notable for its starkness. Editor: My first impression is one of surprising melancholy. You expect the circus to be vibrant and full of life, but this is so…empty. The muted tones contribute to that feeling. Curator: Yes, Frank is deliberately playing with that expectation. Looking at the construction, the haphazard arrangement of tents and that prominent utility pole bisecting the composition…it really strips away the magic. We see the raw, almost makeshift reality of this traveling spectacle. Editor: Exactly! And the material aspect – these tents, likely canvas stretched over simple frames, reveal the labor involved. You can almost smell the dampness and feel the texture of the aged canvas in this monochrome image. It reminds you that even 'magic' is built, literally. Curator: Right, the circus, from a socio-historical point, has always been a precarious industry, both romanticized and looked down upon. Frank’s choice to frame it this way challenges the romanticized circus narrative by showing its rather bleak underbelly. Editor: It makes you wonder about the performers and laborers, doesn't it? How are they sustained and looked after when the shows are not happening? I mean, look at the shadows lengthening, suggesting time is ticking on... Curator: Frank also suggests questions around spectacle. Who are we really looking at in those staged moments and are they truly free or merely instruments of capitalistic play. These sorts of photographs make a case for the serious analysis of artistic endeavors. Editor: I agree. I walked in here expecting pure nostalgic pleasure from anything related to circuses, but Frank uses the image to bring our attention towards these unseen spaces of art-making and how their conditions can change meanings of the circus from a celebration into some form of precarious employment. Curator: This is not a photo to merely amuse. In many ways it wants us to engage, debate and question the narratives behind the magic. Editor: Precisely, Frank forces us to consider the larger social structures which make that 'magic' happen. A fine argument about the use of photography in art.