Guggenheim 156--Trenton, New Jersey 1956

This is Robert Frank’s photographic work, "Guggenheim 156--Trenton, New Jersey," and it's a fascinating dive into the artist's process. It’s a contact sheet, an intimate look at what usually stays behind the scenes. I imagine Frank, camera in hand, wandering through Trenton, New Jersey. What’s he searching for? Truth? Beauty? Or just a moment that snags his attention? The red marks feel like he is in conversation with himself. There is a snarky refusal of perfection. But maybe there is perfection in this refusal? The grainy blacks and whites, the way the images are ordered—it reminds me of the beats in a poem. Each frame is a chance, a try, a step towards something more. The physicality of the film, the tangible quality of the sheet—it’s all part of the story. Like a painter layering colors, Frank captures layers of life, one frame at a time. And, just like painting, the process becomes the point.