Sally Mann

 

This American photographer grew up in Lexington and studied photography in the late 60's at the Ansel Adams Yosemite workshops and later at colleges in Vermont where she graduated not only with photography as her major but with with an MA in creative writing.

She has long had a reputation for disquieting photographs of familial relationships, of young girls on the cusp of womanhood, of the familiar natural world shown in an unfamiliar and slightly awkward way which draws attention to the often unseen, for the themes of death and decomposition and themes of complex identity in the American South. Her own family feature strongly in her work including her children, the decline of her husband Larry with Muscular Dystrophy and the decaying remains of her much loved greyhound. This is not work for the easily disturbed but her techniques and subject matter repays close attention.

Usually working with an 8x10 bellows camera she has explored many printing processes to suit her work.

A Guggenheim Fellow, named "America's Best Photographer" in 2001 by TIME Magazine and a three time recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship she has also had two documentaries made about her work; "Blood Ties" (1994) and "What Remains" (2006) both of which were nominated for major awards. Both can be found online and watched for a small fee.  Her work now appears in galleries and museums across the world.

The following is a one hour You Tube interview with Charlie Rose from 2016 which has a really great beginning :-) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4jaRBwGVYc 

The photos below show the reason for controversy they have caused with accusations of her taken advantage of her children and showing them in provocative poses. Her children very much support her work and have always voted on the photographs she can show. One of the main things I take from her work (apart from the beauty of natural light) is to not be afraid of following your instincts.