Zero Mostel--Bed story for "Harper's Bazaar" 21 1962

This is a contact sheet, made by Robert Frank for Harper’s Bazaar, showing Zero Mostel in bed. Each frame feels like a little study, a fleeting thought captured in silver gelatin. The surface has this incredible range of grays, from deep blacks to airy whites. I love how Frank doesn't try to hide the process, you can see the sprocket holes, the edges of the film. Each tiny picture invites you into Mostel’s intimate space. I see the way the light falls on his face, sometimes sharp, sometimes soft, and how it shapes the mood. The graininess adds to the feeling of immediacy, as if we are right there in the room with him, like we could almost reach out and touch the scene. It reminds me of some of Diane Arbus’s work. Both artists were interested in capturing the raw and unvarnished aspects of life, finding beauty in the everyday and the unexpected. Art is always a conversation, a dialogue across time and between artists.