From the bus 77 1958

Curator: Hello, welcome. Let's explore Robert Frank's "From the Bus 77," created in 1958. Editor: This is a fascinating photographic work. The contact sheet layout shows us so much! It almost feels like getting a peek behind the curtain. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: I see here an elevation of the photographic process to artistic subject matter. We aren’t simply viewing a collection of ‘snaps,’ but witnessing the means of image production laid bare – the celluloid strip itself, the materiality of photography made central. Consider also the societal context; 1958 was a pivotal moment in mass culture, marked by the consumption of images. Frank offers an unvarnished glimpse into the social landscape, the means of which is an overt part of the statement. Editor: That’s an interesting perspective. So you’re saying that the medium and Frank's handling of it is as significant, if not more so, than the individual images themselves? Curator: Exactly. How are the photos produced? With what level of financial capital investment and access? For whom are these photos of everyday scenes made and circulated? Who has access to such images, and what larger social purpose do they serve? Do we find in his works an attempt to democratize both the medium and its means? These are important materialist-based questions that need further consideration. What kind of camera produced this series? What type of dark-room and photographic-chemical treatments are shown through the look and style of the picture? Editor: I never thought about a photo contact sheet that way. I was so focused on trying to interpret each of the images. Curator: It's easy to get caught up in that! But the contact sheet format is deliberately included here by the artist to remind the viewer that this is only one, manufactured view of "reality." It points us towards questions of the making of meaning, rather than passive absorption. Editor: It's so true! This really opened my eyes to the work that went into this image, and beyond it. Curator: Exactly, and consider, is the process accessible for anyone? What labor is behind the shot itself?