Lunch counter--Chattanooga, Tennessee 1955

Robert Frank shot this photograph, "Lunch counter--Chattanooga, Tennessee," using his Leica camera. The greyscale image and the way the subjects are cropped, like a snapshot taken on the fly, really show his hand in the process. There’s something so raw and gritty about this picture. I mean, you can almost feel the texture of the scene, like you’re there, elbow-to-elbow with the people at the counter. The way Frank captures the light, especially on the backs of those sitting, gives them an almost sculptural presence, even though the image is flat. The limited range of tone allows you to really focus on the composition and the way he's framed the people, almost like objects on display. Thinking about other photographers, I am reminded of Walker Evans. Like Evans, Frank finds a beauty that's both sad and real in the everyday, turning a simple lunch counter into a mirror reflecting some deeper truths about America. It’s a reminder that art isn’t just about making pretty things; it’s about seeing the world in a new way, with all its mess and contradictions.