The documentary on Sally Mann is not my first exposure to this interesting artist. A friend of mine had recommended her to me a year ago as a photographer I might be interested in. Indeed, I find Sally Mann’s work to be beautiful and intriguing, and after this documentary on her I see that she is even more fascinating than I had previously realized.
I was most interested in her use of the large-format, glass negatives which are not only a pain to prepare but subject to so many faults. Instead of being frustrated with their imperfections Mann embraced them, and felt they added something to her art. In this era of digital cameras where just about anyone can shoot a decent image it is refreshing to see someone who is not afraid of making mistakes. Mann’s take on death was chilling but still beautiful, while watching her walk through the corpses I felt myself mostly repulsed, but upon seeing the images she captured I was suddenly fascinated by them.
Mann’s relationship with her husband and children was just as interesting as any of her art. It is touching to see a couple still in love after so many years, and with three children whom seem to all get along well. Mann’s earlier portraits of her children were so beautiful; it is hard for me to understand how anyone could look at them and declare that they were child pornography or exploited the children in anyway. And now as adults looking back over old photos the children do not seem distressed or alarmed, but see them as their family album, the record of their childhood.
