Guggenheim 727--Omaha, Nebraska 1956

Robert Frank made this photograph, Guggenheim 727--Omaha, Nebraska, using gelatin silver print. It’s a contact sheet, or maybe a proof sheet, with images from a 35mm negative. I’m thinking about Frank looking through the camera, and the feel of the camera in his hand. The images are black and white, and the contrast feels harsh, grainy, and raw. This is real life – no glossy magazine spread here. I see buildings, streets, and maybe interiors – all of the stuff that makes up a place. It's a place, but it's also a feeling, an experience, and it's all tied up with Frank's own way of seeing. The red marker feels like Frank’s own marks of emphasis, and the selected frames become a kind of personal language. Like Cy Twombly, Frank invites us to consider the role of mark-making in the act of art. It's like he's saying, "Here, look at this. This is what I saw. What do you see?" And maybe, "What does it all mean?"