Florida 4 1958

Robert Frank made this contact sheet, or series of images, called 'Florida 4' at an unknown date using, presumably, a camera and some film. The whole thing has a very raw feel, doesn't it? Like a page ripped from a sketchbook, the unguarded nature of this reminds me of the way Cy Twombly would 'draw' with his camera. Look at the way the images are sequenced. There is a central image, in the middle row and surrounded by a red ring, that shows a building obscured by a tree. It feels almost accidental, but it's this that Frank has chosen to focus on. The dark, inky blacks of the photographic paper create a strong contrast to the greyscale images that are arranged within. This reminds me that even photography is rooted in the material and that it is always a subjective interpretation, rather than an objective record. Think of Bernd and Hilla Becher, who embraced a similarly serial approach in their photographic work, and who are also interested in the act of recording as a creative endeavor. Ultimately, this piece encourages us to think about the layers of intention and chance involved in all artmaking.