Ruth--Chicago E 1953

Robert Frank made this gelatin silver print, "Ruth--Chicago E," sometime in the 20th century. It's a contact sheet, and it looks like he didn't want to hide his process. I’m interested in how the different strips of images are placed at odd angles, and the emulsion and frame marks are all visible. It feels intimate, like a little peek behind the scenes. Like you're there in the dark room with him! The way the strips are staggered creates a rhythm, a visual dance across the surface. There's a kind of honesty to the work. You can see the dust and scratches, the imperfections, and these become part of its beauty. It reminds me of Gerhard Richter’s Atlas, in the way the photographic series becomes a work in itself. Like Richter, Frank’s work embraces chance and ambiguity, refusing to offer easy answers. It's this vulnerability that makes it so compelling.