Felix Pasilis--Painters no number c. 1956

Robert Frank made this series of photographs of Felix Pasilis, a painter, sometime in the 20th century. It’s a photographer looking at a painter—what a trip! In the photos, Pasilis is caught in his lair surrounded by paintings, flowers, and sculptures. There’s a filmic quality to these images. They seem to track the quiet passage of time in the studio. In one shot, Pasilis is deep in thought; in another, he’s captured in the act of painting. I imagine the artist lost in his own world, unaware of Frank’s gaze. The studio is a theatre of the mind, you know? Frank’s images remind me of the work of other painters, like Fairfield Porter who captured the quiet intimacy of domestic life. Ultimately, Frank’s photo series speaks to the interconnectedness of art and life. Artists are always riffing on each other’s ideas, stealing each other’s moves and reinterpreting them in their own way. That's how we all keep the conversation going.