Emily Hannak - Sally Mann

Sally Mann’s work is known for its controversial nature. As a mother, she sought to depict her family as naturally and as intimately as possible, She is most well known for photographing her children in the nude and using the images in her displays. Many people found an issue with her vision as they saw it as pornography rather than art, and felt that she was abusing and extorting her kids. People claim that what she did was an inexcusable action from a parent and that her children were forced into it; however, her daughter Jessie told Richard B. Woodward from the New York Times, “I have no objections, none…The few times I don’t like it is when I have a friend over and I’m just in my room and Mom says, ‘Picture time,’ and I don’t really want to do it.” She asked for her children’s consent to photograph them and to publish them, and never published a photo her children asked her not to (Jones). Other’s hated Mann because they believed that she only did what she did for the shock-and-awe of it, and used it to gain attention and fame; if anything, Mann was sincere in her work. She loved her family and children so strongly, and remains devastated after her son’s death (Sheets). She even continued her work and the memory of her son with a collection entitled “Remembering Light” that was “suffused with grief” (Sheets).

I believe Mann had every right to photograph her own kids the way she did. As an artist, she had no ill intention with the subjects and context she chose, and as a mother she took many precautions to ensure she never made her children uncomfortable or violated their privacy and trust. When people say that this is more pornographic than artistic, that is their own problem for sexualizing children in such a way. To me, our society has a bad habit of over-sexualizing many things. This hypersexual attitude is the sole root of any and all controversy surrounding Sally Mann’s works. If this mentality did not exist, people would see her work as she intended: an honest, intimate, and realistic depiction of her beloved kids in the real world. While I don’t think I would ever photograph my own children in such a way, I believe she had every right to do so and went about it in the best way possible. I also think some of her staged photos or photos primarily featuring her own son’s gentiles are way over the line and unnecessary to get her point across, but she isn’t doing anything inherently or legally wrong. Her purpose was entirely art based with no malicious or pornographic intent. While I am not a fan of her work as a whole, I am a fan of her determined attitude when it comes to defending her work and kids. She’s a strong willed woman and a talented photographer.

                                                Works Cited

Woodward, Richard B. "The Disturbing Photography of Sally Mann." The New York

     Times, NYT, 16 Apr. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/magazine/

     the-disturbing-photography-of-sally-mann.html. Accessed 6 Aug. 2018.

Jones, Felicity. "The Controversial Art Works of Iconic Photographer Sally

     Mann." Felicity's Blog, 4 May 2017, felicitysblog.com/

     sally-mann-iconic-photographer-controversial-nude-art-works/. Accessed 6

     Aug. 2018.

Sheets, Hilarie M. "After Her Son’s Death, Sally Mann Stages a Haunting Show."

     The New York Times, NYT, 6 Sept. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/09/07/arts/

     design/sally-mann-cy-twombly-remembered-light.html. Accessed 6 Aug. 2018.