Swimmer--Sports 1941 - 1945

This is Robert Frank’s photograph, Swimmer--Sports, and it’s a funny kind of picture. I look at the water, at the swimmer diving, and I feel like the camera is falling too, tumbling down into the depths. There’s a dark head in the center, a pair of feet above, and the water is all churned up in a halo of white. I imagine Frank, leaning over a bridge maybe, or a boat, and clicking the shutter at just the right moment to catch this scene of fleeting chaos. I feel like I'm swimming, or drowning maybe. The picture is cropped strangely, with a big white space below, like he wasn't sure if he was making a painting or a snapshot. It reminds me a little of those awkward moments in painting when you don't quite know how to finish. Frank is one of many artists making things, we are all in conversation.