Paris 31A 1949 - 1950

Robert Frank made ‘Paris 31A’ using gelatin silver print to give us a peek into his process. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s the raw stuff, the strips of film, the outtakes.” I love how this piece makes no attempt to hide the mechanism or craft behind the final image. The material quality of the gelatin silver is so stark, so black and white, it strips everything down. You can see the individual frames, and the numbers scrawled across the strip, like notes to himself. The light and shadow play in each tiny frame creates these miniature worlds, all connected, yet separate. It reminds me of how we build meaning, piece by piece, from fragments of experience. Frank isn’t afraid to show the messy, imperfect journey. It’s a reminder that art, like life, is about the journey, not just the destination. Think of Bernd and Hilla Becher and their grids of industrial architecture; Frank is doing something similar here, turning seriality into a form of portraiture.