Trip south--Seville and Malaga, Spain 4 1952

Robert Frank created this photographic work, a contact sheet titled ‘Trip south--Seville and Malaga, Spain 4’ sometime during his travels. Look at the red marks he’s made – slashes, numbers, writing over the images. He’s interacting with the surface, making decisions, editing, bringing images into focus. It’s physical, it’s immediate. I’m thinking about Frank driving around, making photographs, processing them in a darkroom, and then sitting down with a red pen, reflecting on the journey. The numbers could mean anything – maybe it’s a gut feeling, a way of scoring or ranking what he’s seeing. Or perhaps the numbers mark the order in which the photographs were taken. And what about the torn piece? It feels like a violent gesture. Was he angry, frustrated, or just restless? It feels like an honest and intuitive response. It's a reminder that art isn’t just about the finished product, it’s about process, the choices, the doubts, and the willingness to experiment.