Being photographed naked is a statement, but the message is not always clear. Are they being photographed naked to show carefree, innocence, sexual desires, or bravery? As I mentioned in class, the pose a subject has in a photo gives a clear message. For ESPN's The Body Issue their subjects are laughing, flexing, and posing for the camera in an attempt at sex appeal. They are using their naked bodies to appear sexy and desirable. After taking a look at more of Mann's images from her album, it was clear Immediate Family shows a completely different view of nakedness (2). Mann did not have her children pose in a sexual way to the camera in their naked images. Instead, she had them look like a playing child without a care in the world or a wide-eyed vulnerable child who still needed protected from the world. The way her children are standing in most of her images either show carefree or innocence - the two words most commonly associated with a child.
"Can young children freely give consent for controversial portraits even if - especially if - the artist is their parent?" the New York Times questioned the ability of a child to truly grasp the concept of consent (1). Although critics believed the children giving their permission to Mann meant nothing, it heavily influenced my opinion. Mann respected her children's requests if they ever asked an image not be used. The children might not have fully understood the concept of permission at their young ages, but their consent changes the project from unwanted publicity to accepted portraits. Asking permission from her children seems like such a trifling matter, but knowing the young subjects voiced how they felt about being photographed made it possible for me to accept Mann's work.
One of the most memorable photos, in my opinion, from Immediate Family is of Mann's daughter holding a candy cigarette displaying the loss of childhood innocence (3). In this image - as well as many others in the album, the child is fully clothed. The message behind the album is displayed through this decision to include clothed pictures of her children. Had the album been only naked images of Mann's children, it would seem as though nudity is the message behind the images; however, Mann incorporates the photos of her children clothed to show the message is meant to be childhood and everything that comes with it.
A message behind a piece of art cannot always justify controversy within the art. Although for Mann's Immediate Family, the meaning behind the album strongly justifies her use of nudity in her images. The want to portray childhood innocence rather than sex appeal of young subjects, in my opinion, makes Mann's images all the more acceptable.
Works Cited
1. “The Disturbing Photography of Sally Mann.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/magazine/the-disturbing-photography-of-sally-mann.html
2. “Sally Mann.” Self-Portrait with Dog by Constantin Brancusi on Artnet, Sotheby's London, http://www.artnet.com/artists/sally-mann/
3. amer4127. “SALLY MANN:” AMERICAN SUBURB X, 18 Feb. 2016, https://www.americansuburbx.com/2009/11/theory-sally-manns-immediate-family.html
"Can young children freely give consent for controversial portraits even if - especially if - the artist is their parent?" the New York Times questioned the ability of a child to truly grasp the concept of consent (1). Although critics believed the children giving their permission to Mann meant nothing, it heavily influenced my opinion. Mann respected her children's requests if they ever asked an image not be used. The children might not have fully understood the concept of permission at their young ages, but their consent changes the project from unwanted publicity to accepted portraits. Asking permission from her children seems like such a trifling matter, but knowing the young subjects voiced how they felt about being photographed made it possible for me to accept Mann's work.
One of the most memorable photos, in my opinion, from Immediate Family is of Mann's daughter holding a candy cigarette displaying the loss of childhood innocence (3). In this image - as well as many others in the album, the child is fully clothed. The message behind the album is displayed through this decision to include clothed pictures of her children. Had the album been only naked images of Mann's children, it would seem as though nudity is the message behind the images; however, Mann incorporates the photos of her children clothed to show the message is meant to be childhood and everything that comes with it.
A message behind a piece of art cannot always justify controversy within the art. Although for Mann's Immediate Family, the meaning behind the album strongly justifies her use of nudity in her images. The want to portray childhood innocence rather than sex appeal of young subjects, in my opinion, makes Mann's images all the more acceptable.
Works Cited
1. “The Disturbing Photography of Sally Mann.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/magazine/the-disturbing-photography-of-sally-mann.html
2. “Sally Mann.” Self-Portrait with Dog by Constantin Brancusi on Artnet, Sotheby's London, http://www.artnet.com/artists/sally-mann/
3. amer4127. “SALLY MANN:” AMERICAN SUBURB X, 18 Feb. 2016, https://www.americansuburbx.com/2009/11/theory-sally-manns-immediate-family.html
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