Westlake, California 1956

This photograph, titled ‘Westlake, California’ was captured by Robert Frank, a Swiss-American photographer. The houses recede into the distance, and the street goes on forever. I wonder if Frank was thinking about monotony here, the endless repetition of the suburban landscape. There’s a rhythm to those houses marching up the hill, but it's a rhythm that feels...stuck. What was it like being Frank, driving around America, seeing all this stuff? There's a vulnerability to the photo. It could be a snapshot, you know, a quick grab of something that caught his eye. And yet, I'm sure he chose to take it, crop it, show it. The image resonates with other photographers who explored similar themes of urban alienation. Frank knew that he was building on what came before, and I'm sure it helped to have examples to look at. The photo speaks of the artist’s state of mind, one that embraces vulnerability and the human condition. It’s a beautiful conversation about how we all see and interpret the world.