Butcher shop window, Paris 1951

Robert Frank made this photograph, "Butcher shop window, Paris," with gelatin silver. What strikes me most is how he plays with light and shadow to create a moody, almost surreal atmosphere. The carcasses hanging in the window become monumental forms, looming over the scene. Then there’s this person outside, just a dark shape, almost blurred, walking past - maybe they're thinking about dinner, maybe they are not, we don't know. This use of shadow makes you consider what Frank is trying to highlight. It reminds me a little of the way Weegee captured New York, that same grit, that same sense of life happening in the margins. And like a painting, it's about so much more than just the subject matter. It's about how we see, how we feel, and how art helps us make sense of it all. It’s like Frank is saying, "Look closer, there's beauty and strangeness everywhere."