Saint Patrick's Day parade--New York City 8 17 - 1958

Robert Frank made this photographic contact sheet for ‘Saint Patrick's Day parade--New York City 8’ using a camera and film. The grey scale here feels more like a document, a witness account, than a polished gallery print. I'm always struck by the indexical nature of photography, this is a record of what was there, but it’s also Frank's take. In one area near the bottom, American flags line the street, hanging limp, waiting for some wind. Look at the texture! The contrast is harsh, almost gritty. You can practically feel the cold concrete and the weight of the overcast sky. Frank reminds me a little of Walker Evans, but maybe a bit less formal. You get the sense with both of them that they are trawling the streets, waiting for that thing that will be of it's time, and timeless all at once. What does it mean to document something? Is it possible to just see, without also making?