Acrobats, Paris 1949

Robert Frank snapped this picture, "Acrobats, Paris," and it's like a little stage play caught in monochrome. You know, the way he’s framed this crowd, it’s from above, like we’re in some apartment looking down. The tones are so subtle, it’s almost like he’s painting with light. Look at the way the figures huddle together, a dark mass against the pale square. It’s not a sharp picture, it's kind of soft, which gives it a dreamy quality, like a memory. There's a lovely lamppost smack in the middle, it divides the picture, and brings order to the urban chaos. I think about someone like Garry Winogrand, who also had that knack for freezing life's little absurdities. What's happening there? I don't know, and that's alright with me. That's the best part of art, right? That you can make up your own story.