Hollywood 38 1958

Robert Frank made "Hollywood 38" as a series of photographs that capture life, or rather, lives on film. It's a contact sheet, a behind-the-scenes look at the process, all about what it means to make a picture, to document a moment. The grit and grain are right there, exposed, not hidden. It reminds me that artmaking is really about embracing the raw and the real. The texture is so important here, you can see the individual frames, the sprocket holes, the way the light hits each image slightly differently. Each frame is a piece of a story. And that one frame, fourth row from the top, the two figures look like they are about to kiss. It stands out—more intimate, quieter. It's like Frank is saying, "Hey, even in the chaos of Hollywood, there's still room for something real." In a way, Frank's work shares a sensibility with that of Garry Winogrand, who also photographed street life, capturing the frenetic energy of the everyday. But with Frank, there's always this undercurrent of vulnerability.