Woman painting beside parked automobiles--Los Angeles c. 1955 - 1956

This photograph of a woman painting beside parked cars in Los Angeles was taken by Robert Frank sometime in the twentieth century. The high-contrast black and white gives it a real mid-century feel, a bit like a film noir. I love how Frank captures the act of seeing itself, like a painting within a photograph. You can almost feel the texture of the artist’s canvas and the way the light hits those vintage car bodies. I find my eye is drawn to the woman’s canvas, slightly hidden, which makes me wonder about the relationship between what she is painting, the cars and what Frank is photographing. It reminds me of Ed Ruscha’s parking lot photographs; there's something about the California light and the everyday that's totally captivating. Like so much great art, this image is full of questions, and that's what makes it so interesting.