Miles Forst Shoes at Crosby Street 1950

This is Robert Frank’s photograph, made in 1950, of Miles Forst’s shoes on Crosby Street. The shoes sit squarely on the floorboards, facing us. Behind them, a potted plant droops; its leaves are heavy, almost mournful. The scene is cast in a stark, unflinching light that somehow makes the ordinary feel monumental. I bet Frank felt like he was chasing something in the moment that he clicked the shutter. What was he thinking? What compelled him to capture this quiet still life? Was he trying to say something about the life of the artist, the tools they use, the environments they inhabit? The weight of the boots—how they stand there so solid, and the sadness of the plant—how that speaks volumes. It reminds me that making art is like having a conversation, and artists are always answering each other across time.