Butte, Montana 1956

Robert Frank shot this photograph, Butte, Montana with a camera, sometime during his travels across America. The grainy greyscale gives the image an immediacy, a lack of fuss that throws the emphasis onto the subjects in their world. It's like he caught a moment rather than created one. I'm drawn to the older woman's face, lined and careworn, and the way she stares, almost accusingly, towards the camera. There is a slight blurring, a sense of movement, but her expression is clear, even defiant. Next to her, the child staring out of the window looks more innocent, or perhaps just bored on a long journey. Frank always had that incredible knack for capturing the real, the unvarnished truth of America. There's a rawness to his work that reminds me a little of Diane Arbus, who was also drawn to the margins of society. But Frank, he’s got this road trip vibe, like Hopper in a car. It’s not perfect, it’s not posed, it just is. And that, for me, is the magic.