Two men leaning on automobile--Alabama 1955

Robert Frank's photograph captures two men in Alabama leaning on an automobile, and it feels like he’s trying to get something down real, real quick. Frank was Swiss, an outsider, and he was obsessed with the American vernacular, maybe because it wasn’t his, and that allowed him to see it differently. It feels like he’s trying to find some kind of truth. The light flattens, and that contrast feels fraught. In the picture, there’s this strange kind of tenderness between the men, but it's also a bit alienated. It makes me wonder what they are talking about. The thing is, Frank's work is all about the way we look and see. He’s in conversation with other photographers and other image-makers, all asking questions, all trying to make something out of nothing. Photography and painting are both just trying to figure stuff out.