Andrea with horse--Woodstock no number 1962

Curator: So, we're looking at Robert Frank's "Andrea with horse--Woodstock no number" from 1962, a gelatin silver print. The entire photographic roll is shown and it strikes me as quite fragmented, a collection of moments. What's your take? Editor: It does feel like a sequence or contact sheet, and I see different scenes here: a woman with a horse, people at a lakeside, cars. What fascinates you most about how this photograph was made? Curator: Well, let’s consider the materials. Frank chose gelatin silver, a process linked to mass production and reproducibility. But here, presenting the entire roll, he disrupts that idea of the singular, perfect image. The 'mistakes', the frames not meant for display, are shown. How does that relate to Frank's time? Editor: So, the medium becomes the message, so to speak. Was there an intention to deconstruct the preciousness associated with fine art photography? Curator: Precisely. Think about the economic boom of the 1960s, the rise of consumer culture, and mass media. Frank, a Swiss immigrant, was documenting America, but also critiquing its relentless pursuit of the ideal. Showing the raw material, the entire roll, lays bare the mechanics of image-making and disrupts a consumption focused society. It emphasizes the labor, both Frank's and that of the materials themselves. What might it tell us about photography as an act? Editor: I see it as emphasizing process over product. By showing us the entire strip, the editing and selection are removed, giving a look into what the artist thought important and how. I’ll definitely think differently about contact sheets from now on! Curator: Yes, by making the process visible, the work speaks volumes. It highlights the human element, the decisions behind creating an image and disrupts our common view of photography.