23rd Street--New York City no number 1953

Robert Frank made this work, '23rd Street--New York City no number', using photography, and it's so raw it feels like it could have been done yesterday. Looking at these frames, I imagine Frank moving around, trying different angles, trying to get it right. What was he thinking as he moved the camera? Was he thinking about Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment? Each frame offers a slightly different slice of life, a different perspective on the same subject, but the magic is in how Frank strings them together. The repetition reminds me of Eadweard Muybridge's motion studies, but instead of science, Frank is after something more elusive. Maybe a feeling, an atmosphere? You could say that Frank's influence on photography is a bit like de Kooning's impact on painting. It's about breaking the rules, embracing the messy, and finding beauty in the everyday. They're all part of this ongoing conversation, pushing each other, and inspiring new ways of seeing the world.