Subway no number 1955

Robert Frank made this sheet of black and white photographs, titled "Subway no number," sometime during his life. It's a contact sheet, a record of the image-making process, like a painter's preparatory sketch. See how the subway car stretches across the top few frames? The faces are a blur, yet each one tells a story. This reminds me of when I’m painting and trying to capture a feeling of motion. I build up layers, adding and subtracting, until the feeling becomes real. Look at the graininess of the print, the way the light flickers and dances across the surface. It’s almost like Frank is painting with light, revealing the raw, gritty reality of urban life. The composition isn't fussy, it's more about an atmosphere, a way of life. Frank, like his contemporary, Helen Levitt, was a master of capturing the poetry of the everyday. His images are a reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places, if we only take the time to look.