Pablo and Andrea 3 1957 - 1958

Robert Frank’s ‘Pablo and Andrea 3’ shows strips of celluloid film rolled out like small canvases. I find myself imagining Frank at the beach with his camera, watching this group of people – Pablo and Andrea and their friends. I can almost hear the whoosh of the waves, the clatter of the camera and the laughter of the people in the frames. I notice how the subjects are captured looking up, their faces animated with joy, mouths open. It feels like the beginning of something, perhaps a shared joke or the anticipation of a beautiful sunset. Maybe Frank wasn’t just documenting; maybe he was participating, inviting them to respond to something happening beyond the camera's frame. Frank’s work often feels like a conversation, both with his subjects and with the history of photography itself. Like painters, photographers develop a visual language over time and Frank is no exception. He developed an intuitive understanding of light, shadow, and composition. Each photograph extends from the ones that came before, building on previous ideas. It is through this conversation with his materials that Frank, like all artists, can evolve.