New York City no number c. early 1950s

This is ‘New York City no number’ by Robert Frank, a photo on film, and it’s basically a full contact sheet, showing every shot he took on a roll. This reminds me that artmaking is often about process as much as the final result. Here, you get to see all the in-between moments, the slight adjustments, the attempts to get the right light or the perfect composition. You can see how Frank was looking, what caught his eye. It's not just one perfect image, but a whole sequence. And that sequence tells a story. Take a look at the bottom rows, figures unloading luggage; you can see the narrative unfold. The graininess, the stark contrast, the raw feel – it’s all very Frank, very gritty, very real. It’s almost like a moving picture, a flicker film, like the work of Stan Brakhage. You could spend hours with this piece. It really reflects what art is all about: seeing, feeling, and thinking in multiple directions all at once.