Sally Mann; Some Food for Thought

The last class of #picbod2012 approaches, but don’t be sad, there’s still plenty of inspiration on the site to keep you going! And don’t forget that throughout March the Photo Book Club (run by our own Matt Johnston) will be looking at Sally Mann’s seminal photo book ‘Immediate Family’.

Candy Cigarette, 1989 ©SALLY MANN

Mann’s images focus on her family growing up amongst the serene landscape of a home in rural Virginia. The book was featured by some of our students during week one , was this the first time you saw it? Maybe its an old favourite, hugely over-rated or offensive. Let us know and share your thoughts over here.

And as an appetite whet-er, here is a guest post from the Photo Book Club highlighting a few resources for more information and inspiration on Sally Mann and her work:

As we look at Sally Mann’s ‘Immediate Family’ this month it is worth acknowledging the artist beyond this single publication. And so below are some useful links and resources to find out a little more about one of America’s most important female artists. You can also see the links below for other publications by Mann.

We will feature another ‘food for thought’ post shortly looking more closely at resources linked to ‘Immediate Family’.

1. Perhaps the best resource is the film ‘What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann‘, directed by Steven Cantor.
Sections of the film can be found on Youtube or you can buy the complete film here.

2. In this interview from American Suburb X, Sally Mann speaks with Steven Cantor (director of ‘What Remains’) about the process of making the documentary, and in particular about the relationships between Mann and her children.

3. This next video is not nearly as in depth as ‘What Remains’ but it still offers a great insight int Mann’s mind, and process as well as hearing from her children about their mothers image making and use of them as subjects.

4. ‘From Lens to Photo: Sally Mann Captures her Love‘, in this video Mann speaks of her ‘Flesh and the Spirit’ body of work in which she photographs her husband Larry Mann.

5. And if you enjoyed that, NPR also feature an insider conversation between Sally and Larry Mann which is interesting, touching and sobering in equal measures.

6. In this text interview Mann talks about her ‘Deep South’ body of work

7. And, luckily for fans of Mann’s work, her website, unlike so many other big-gallery photographers is good!
You can see selections of images from most all of her series, hit the links below to get a taste for the different bodies of work:

Early Work
At Twelve
Family Pictures
Southern Landscapes
Battlefields
Body Farm
Faces
Proud Flesh
Ambrotypes

- Matt