City of London 14/Black White and Things 10 1952 - 1953

Robert Frank made "City of London 14/Black White and Things 10" with gelatin silver print on paper. What strikes me first is the handwritten annotations, like the scribbled-out frame and the circled figures, revealing the editing process, not concealed but embraced. The materiality of the photographic film is also laid bare. It’s not just about the images but the entire process – the sprocket holes, the frame numbers, and the edge markings, all part of the story. Look at the sequence, the way it moves from day to night, the repetition of figures and cars. Each frame a moment, a fleeting encounter, a fragment of the city's rhythm. This reminds me of how Gerhard Richter uses photography, with the blurring and scraping to emphasize the limitations of the medium, it's like Frank is doing something similar here, revealing the behind-the-scenes of art. It’s not just about capturing reality but about questioning the nature of representation itself.