Morgan Lang - Sally Mann

Personally, I think that Sally Mann was in the right, and should not be judged or criticized for her actions. The photographs of her children, encapsulated playfulness, peacefulness, happiness, and overall innocence. I think that her photographs should be viewed as so, and not through a perverted lens.

While researching this heated topic, I learned more about Sally’s personality and her motivation behind “Immediate Family”. Mrs. Mann was sent terrible letters, that she called “Bad Mother” letters, criticizing her about her parenting and her actions. However, she is just like any other mom. She walked her kids to and from school, went to their concerts and soccer games, changed wet beds, and packed healthy school lunches. A lot of people thought that Sally was wrong for taking nude pictures of her children, because they couldn’t give consent. Sally tells us that her children were in full control of their photographs. They helped set the scene, produce the desired effects, and edited them. She never published a photograph that her children didn’t approve of or weren’t comfortable with. An example that she gives us in her article: “Sally Mann’s Exposure”, brings light on how Emmett thought of one of his photographs. When Emmett was 13, he asked his mom to exclude a picture form the book, “Immediate Family”. He was pretending to be Bugs Bunny and was wearing nothing but long white socks on his arms. He wasn’t uncomfortable with the fact that he was nude, but that he didn’t want to seem like a dork, due to the socks on his arms. This just goes to show that Sally’s kids didn’t mind being photographed in the nude.  

I think that Sally’s intentions for taking these pictures are just and should not be considered pornographic. This book shows the true freedom, and innocence of childhood. The very landscape they grew up on has a great importance on how we perceive these images. They are isolated from the chaotic and fast passed world. Their playgrounds were rivers, cliffs, and fields. The images capture the overall feeling of growing up in that environment, and the freedom and innocence that comes with it. I think to look at these pictures as pornographic, switches the whole meaning and purpose for why these children where photographed in the first place. They weren’t hindered by the rules of a more populated area, and were given a chance to explore, and be creative.

        Overall, I think that Sally Mann’s work was a way to express true, natural innocence, and youthfulness. The photographs she includes in “Immediate Family”, were very powerful, and would have been less impactful, if her children weren’t in their natural state. I feel as if Sally and her children were ridiculed for the way they live, rather than appreciating who they are and where they come from. I think Mrs. Mann deserves to be recognized for her guts and confidence with sticking to her beliefs, even thought she faced many hardships through her and her family’s journey. 

Works Cited

Bengal, Rebecca. “After Sally Mann's Memoir, a New Look at Her Most Famous Photographs.” Vogue, Vogue, 1 Feb. 2017, www.vogue.com/article/sally-mann-immediate-family-reissue-memoir-hold-still.

Mann, Sally. “Sally Mann's Exposure.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Apr. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/magazine/the-cost-of-sally-manns-exposure.html.

Woodward, Richard B. “The Disturbing Photography of Sally Mann.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/magazine/the-disturbing-photography-of-sally-mann.html.