Paris 70B 1951 - 1952

Robert Frank made this photographic work, "Paris 70B", by layering strips of film onto paper, and then drawing on it. The blue marker feels so assertive! It’s like Frank is saying, “Look here, this is what matters." The texture is fascinating, isn't it? You have the smooth surface of the photographic paper, the shiny celluloid of the film strips, and then these raw, almost violent blue marks cutting across everything. It's like a conversation between the mechanical eye of the camera and the artist’s hand. Notice the way Frank has circled certain frames, singling out these moments from the flow of images. It's not about perfection; it’s about the selection, the gut feeling that this image has something to say. And those scribbles and marks? They're like graffiti, claiming ownership of the image. Frank was always pushing against the boundaries of photography, like his contemporary Rauschenberg did with painting. Both artists embraced the messy, the imperfect, and the deeply personal. They remind us that art is about seeing, feeling, and daring to show what others might miss.