Macy's Parade no number 1953

Robert Frank exposed this roll of Kodak safety film at an undated Macy's Parade, and when you look at it, you have to imagine what he was thinking as he took these shots. I imagine him moving through the crowd, trying to capture the spirit of the parade, the energy of the people, the spectacle of the floats. Photography like painting is all about capturing a moment in time. Frank's use of black and white film gives these images a timeless quality, and as a painter, I’m interested in how he uses light and shadow to create a sense of depth and texture. There's a real rawness to his work and to the framing of each shot, as if he's trying to get at something deeper than just a pretty picture. It reminds me that as artists we are all in an ongoing conversation, inspiring each other across time and space. He invites us to see the world in new and unexpected ways, a form of embodied expression that embraces ambiguity and uncertainty.