Laborers--People 1941 - 1945

Robert Frank’s small gelatin silver print, "Laborers--People," captures a street scene with two workers repairing what appears to be a tramline. Frank, a Swiss-American photographer, is known for his raw, sometimes bleak depictions of American life. In this seemingly straightforward image, we can begin to unpack questions about class and labor. The facelessness of the laborers draws attention to the physical demands of manual work, asking us to consider the individuals performing it. In the background is a man wearing a suit, perhaps he is the supervisor. The composition evokes a sense of the everyday struggles experienced by the working class. Frank, himself an immigrant, often focused on those existing on the margins. His work asks us to consider the emotional weight of such lives and the societal structures that shape them.