Guggenheim 183--New York City c. 1950

Editor: This is "Guggenheim 183--New York City" by Robert Frank, circa 1950, a gelatin-silver print. It looks like a collection of film strip images, documenting some sort of gathering. There are lots of people. What's your take on this collection of frames? Curator: Seeing this work, I immediately consider the means of photographic production. The gelatin-silver print – a relatively inexpensive and accessible medium in the mid-20th century – democratized image-making. Consider this work, not just as individual photographs, but as an entire, intact contact sheet. Do you see how this moves beyond traditional, singular images towards showing labor of selecting "the one"? What choices was Frank making and how did that impact the overall result? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way. Seeing the entire strip definitely shifts the focus. So, you are talking less about *what* is shown but *how* the image comes into existence. Curator: Precisely. This also speaks to ideas of mass production and the culture of consumption that exploded in post-war America. He captures slices of life and presents it almost like products on a conveyor belt. Think about Frank's later book, *The Americans* -- a critical perspective on this culture that brought new ideas on who an artist is and how artists work within that society. How might that shape our perception of images in other artistic forms as well? Editor: So by displaying the full strip, Frank blurs the lines between a final, polished product and the raw materials that make art in the first place. He almost shares the labor with us. Thanks for sharing these ideas! I will consider the way artists employ the production means when looking at artwork going forward. Curator: My pleasure! Paying attention to materiality of the art lets us unpack a lot more than just what is presented in the artwork.