Guggenheim 732--Omaha, Nebraska to Des Moines, Iowa 1956

This contact sheet, Guggenheim 732--Omaha, Nebraska to Des Moines, Iowa, was made by Robert Frank, known for his raw and honest photography. Looking at this, I imagine Frank on the road, shooting roll after roll, trying to capture the feeling of America in the 50s. Here we can see the American landscape, a lonely highway stretching out, promising escape, or maybe just more of the same. Then, portraits of people gathered, maybe a wedding? Or a political rally. The film strip itself becomes a kind of map, a record of a journey. It reminds me of abstract painting where forms and lines come together to create new meaning. There’s a rhythm, a visual language here, like a painter using brushstrokes to build up an image. Frank’s searching, trying to distill something essential, and the contact sheet lets us in on that process, the choices and accidents that shape the final work. It shows us his movements and his own personal inquiry as he is making his photographs. Like painters who came before, Frank was in conversation with the world around him, using his medium to make sense of it all.