Filming, CBS TV studio--Burbank, California c. 1955 - 1956

Editor: This photograph, “Filming, CBS TV studio--Burbank, California,” was taken around 1955 or 56 by Robert Frank. It’s a gelatin silver print, and it strikes me as strangely…staged, even though it’s documenting a film set. What do you make of this, what grabs your attention? Curator: That "staged" feeling is precisely what sings to me. It’s the meta-ness of it all! A photograph OF a film set. Look at all the exposed technology, the organized chaos. There’s something so honest in its…disguise, shall we say? It makes me think about the nature of performance. Editor: Performance, huh? I see what you mean. The guys on set are also putting on their own act, kind of absorbed by the happenings in the studio. Do you think it reflects the anxieties of the 50’s with the rise of TV? Curator: Perhaps a peek into that rabbit hole… maybe it hints at anxieties surrounding the burgeoning media landscape and its effect on reality. Though I can only guess... Doesn't the television hovering in the background seem somewhat ominous to you, like a second sun? What about the ladder motif? Ascent to fame and what not? Editor: It really does give you the feeling that you're diving behind the scenes and, at the same time, realizing that every point of view is also manufactured. Even documentary-style images. The hovering television gives you pause about whose truth is getting told and how. Thanks, I hadn’t quite seen all that. Curator: The best kind of art, isn’t it? An invitation to explore your own projections. That's how the subconscious unlocks itself. Thanks to Robert Frank! Editor: Agreed, so glad to see this with a fresh pair of eyes!