Dogs 2 1957 - 1959

Robert Frank made this print, Dogs 2, using gelatin silver, and what strikes me about it is the way the frames of the film strips are presented as the image itself, a kind of meta-photography. It’s like he's saying, "Here's the raw material, the process, the thought behind the shot." The contrast in the black and white images is pretty stark, giving it a documentary feel, but then you notice the subjects, often dogs, and the way they’re captured in these fleeting, almost accidental moments. Each frame tells a tiny story, but it's the gaps between them that really get you thinking. The texture of the film, the sprockets, and even the Kodak markings become part of the aesthetic. It reminds me of Gerhard Richter's photo paintings, that same blurring of photography and painting, where the process becomes the subject, leaving you to question what you're actually looking at.