Butte, Montana 1956

Robert Frank captured this image, Butte, Montana, with his camera, framing a moment in time. It's a slice of life, raw and unadorned. I imagine Frank, his eye pressed to the viewfinder, seizing this composition, the figures caught unawares. The woman in the front seat, her gaze fixed, a world of experience etched on her face. And the child behind, lost in thought or perhaps just bored, staring out of the window. There’s a tension between the subjects, a feeling of disconnection, of lives lived side by side yet separate. Think of other photographers who captured the American experience, like Walker Evans or Diane Arbus; Frank shares their unflinching eye, their willingness to see and show the everyday realities of life. Frank's photographs invite us to consider our own place in the world, our relationships to one another, and the stories we carry within us. It’s a conversation, ongoing and ever-evolving, about what it means to be human.