Paris 92B 1951 - 1952

Robert Frank made this photographic contact sheet, titled Paris 92B, sometime during his life. What strikes me first is how this contact sheet shows us the artist at work, making his selections, but also letting us see what he rejected. The process is laid bare! It reminds me that artmaking is often a process of selection. I also love that the blue markings Frank has made feel like a kind of drawing on top of the image. Materially, the texture is rich with the grain of the film, and you can see the frame markings too. Looking at the strips showing a woman inside, at a window, the reflections in the glass make me think about the act of seeing and mirroring. It’s as if we are seeing the world from multiple perspectives at once. Frank’s approach reminds me a little of Garry Winogrand, especially in its casual snapshot aesthetic, but there’s also something very considered and painterly here. Ultimately, for me, this work asks us to embrace the beauty of imperfection and the power of the artist's eye to find meaning in the everyday.