Provincetown no number 1958

This sheet of black and white celluloid film, titled "Provincetown no number," was created by Robert Frank. It is a little like looking into a painter’s sketchbook, or their studio floor. There’s a special intimacy in witnessing the selection process, getting to see not just the final result, but also the in-between moments. It’s a window into Frank’s mind, his way of seeing and organizing the world. I imagine Frank out there on the beach in Provincetown with a group of people, maybe friends, maybe strangers, all holding some kind of light source in the dark. What are they doing? Is it a ritual? Or just a moment of play? There’s a strange combination of the mundane and the mysterious in this. I’m struck by the way he frames the sequence; those little sprocket holes down the side become like a rhythmic pulse. The red marks remind us of the artist's hand, his presence, and his active role in constructing this story. It’s all a kind of conversation, a dialogue between the artist, the subject, and us, the viewers.