Interior of car wash--Gallup, New Mexico 1955

Robert Frank made this gelatin silver print, "Interior of car wash--Gallup, New Mexico," and you can feel the chill of the snow he found there. The car is like a big, dumb animal covered in a blanket, waiting patiently. The texture makes me think of early black and white TV, a sort of gritty realism. I imagine Frank, lugging his camera around, trying to capture something real in a world that's always trying to sell you something else. It makes me think about how he might have been searching for truth in the everyday, just like I search for it in the chaos of my painting studio. He’s dealing in shades of grey, literally and figuratively, trying to find some clarity. Frank, like any great artist, was in conversation with those who came before and those who would follow. His work reminds us that art isn't just about pretty pictures; it's about wrestling with the world. It's not about answers, but about keeping the questions alive.