23rd Street--New York City II 1953

Robert Frank made this photographic work, "23rd Street—New York City II," from strips of celluloid film. Look closely at the images and try to get into the sensibility of the artist. I imagine Frank, with his Leica, on assignment on 23rd Street, or maybe just walking around, lost in thought. Something grabs his attention; he raises his camera to his eye, framing a shot. He presses the shutter release. Then again. And again. And again. A whole roll. I can imagine him developing the film in his darkroom, the images slowly emerging in the chemical bath, like memories resurfacing. These images, these frames, they’re like individual brushstrokes. I feel a sense of someone trying to capture the feeling of being there, an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time. What a feeling to be in the middle of it, in the snow, with Frank. I can almost feel the cold on my face.