Butcher's stall, Paris 1951

Robert Frank took this photograph of a butcher's stall in Paris. It's a grainy black and white image, full of contrasts and shadows, and lit by a naked bulb. I can imagine Frank walking by, feeling the need to capture this raw, visceral scene. I wonder what drew him in? The starkness? The reality of the hanging carcasses juxtaposed with the menu board? The heavy atmosphere of the place? It reminds me a little of Soutine, with the hanging carcasses - you know, the way he captured the disturbing beauty of raw meat. There’s a sense of mortality and the everyday grind right there. Frank captures a moment, loaded with social and cultural meaning. The kind of everyday scene that speaks volumes about life. He’s having a conversation with Soutine, and with all of us, about the human condition and the role of the artist in making us see it. And that’s a dialogue worth listening to.