Children--Parties no number c. 1958

This is ‘Children--Parties no number’ by Robert Frank and it's on film, so it's all about light and shadow. There's a process to photography, you see, even though it can feel instantaneous. There’s something so intimate about seeing the photographer’s roll of film, like glimpsing into a personal notebook. The frames show kids, party drinks, public scenes. I find myself drawn to the variations in exposure, how some frames are almost blown out, others moody and dark. Look at the frames of the goldfish bowl. It's a blurry, dream-like series. Are we seeing childhood through a glass, darkly? It's an interesting metaphor to insert into this series. It puts me in mind of Garry Winogrand, the way he caught life on the streets. But where Winogrand feels like a madman, Frank always feels like a poet. Ultimately, the piece is about the stories that we tell ourselves and the world, and how those stories shift and change depending on how we frame them.