Swiss flag on mountain peak, Arosa 1943 - 1944

Here we have a small, silver gelatin print, showing the Swiss flag on a mountain, taken by Robert Frank sometime in the 20th century. There’s something about the humble greyscale palette that draws me in. It's not about capturing a 'real' colour, but about seeing tonality as a kind of mark-making, a scale from dark to light that defines the form. Look how the texture of the snow is caught by the light; grainy, and uneven. The flag itself is a dark rectangle, relieved by the white cross. It’s a simple image, but it has a quiet power. The flag feels lonely, stuck on top of the mountain, a symbol of something or other. Frank was a master of this kind of unassuming poetry. It reminds me a little of some of Walker Evans’ documentary photography, that same interest in the overlooked and the everyday. But where Evans could be cool and detached, Frank is always personal, as if we are seeing through his eyes.