Subway 13 1955

Robert Frank's 'Subway 13' offers us a glimpse into the photographer’s process, a sheet of film that captures a sequence of moments, of people waiting, travelling, existing. I can just imagine Frank riding the subway, with his camera and the speed and stealth with which he must have worked, capturing these fleeting interactions, faces, and the infrastructure of the city. The raw, grainy texture of the film gives the images a gritty, documentary feel and it is like he's revealing something hidden or overlooked. You see the composition of each frame; you sense the urgency and the artist's eye searching and finding something authentic in everyday life. The red number 13, scrawled on the print, adds a layer of intrigue. What does it mean? Was it a marker, a reference, a comment? For me, it is a reminder that artists are always in dialogue with their work, making marks, questioning, and pushing the boundaries of what photography can be.