Nixon campaign 10 1960

Editor: This is Robert Frank’s “Nixon Campaign 10,” a contact print from 1960. The stark contrast and the gridded layout are so intriguing. It almost feels like looking through a series of fragmented memories. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: The contact sheet format itself speaks volumes. It reveals Frank’s selection process, drawing a line around specific images to underscore or isolate them. But what is interesting here is what it seems to reveal in how campaign imagery operated. Note how each frame echoes, slightly differing yet similar. Editor: It's interesting that you call out his selection process! I wonder if the photos not circled hold any symbolic weight? What did you mean by 'campaign imagery'? Curator: Consider how in different cultural contexts and artistic movements, circles symbolize unity, wholeness, and selection. Why, I wonder, did he feel the need to highlight these exact images? He captures fleeting moments—handshakes, smiles, fleeting moments, repeated almost like a ritual. Nixon seems somewhat out of reach. Do you find a narrative thread within these fragments? Editor: A ritual - that's a great connection. It certainly changes how I see all those little photographs of the political handshakes. It's like a play or staged spectacle of American political culture, with an ominous aura! Curator: Precisely. The contact sheet format encourages us to examine the choices and their effects to draw meanings. Understanding these nuances unlocks layers of intent and reception, doesn't it? Editor: Definitely. It changes my whole reading of it to see the way selection plays such a significant role. I am grateful to know about his methodology.