Sally Mann – Image 8/10

This is a well known image by Sally Mann of her Husband.
I have chosen this image because it’s quite different from the rest of the photographs iI have written about, this image is personal to the photographer and is quite obvious in the image.

If we forget about the manipulation, Sally mann took the image – framed, lighted it etc and the manipulation came later when she developed the image.

The lighting is natural, the shadows are soft and is hiding the identity of the model and this is creating intimacy, the lighting is illuminating the surroundings and shows us the scene he is in. We get the impression that the light source is a nearby window and this leads us again to think this is a home, maybe their home which adds to the personal intimacy the subject and photographer are sharing with us.

If Mann had photographed him in a studio or outside, it would lose the intimacy because we know this image was taken indoors this makes us think its a private moment in their home.

It’s interesting to think that a light source could give us strong clues into the situation and adds to and supports the meaning of the image.

Larry Clark – Initial Thoughts and Broad Research

I have been given Larry Clark as my photographer for Assignment 2.
I need to do extensive research into his photographic practice… this can be all of his work, a certain exhibition or maybe one single photograph. I will then make a 10 minute presentation on this subject.

So my initial research began with a simple google search.
There was plenty of information on him, I found out the basics first…
American film director, photographer and writer. Best known for his movie The Kids (1995) and photographic book Tulsa.

I looked through some of his work and I could quite quickly recognise his preferred style and subject.. his images were mainly of drug addicts, sex scenes, guns, violence and a lot of young teenagers participating in these events.

I then had a look into his associated photographers in the “Intimacy/Power/Exploitation” category.
Which included.
–Sally Mann
–Diane Arbus
–Elinor Carucci 
–Nan Goldin
–Nicholas Nixon

I had a brief look at these photographers and I started to see the connection between them all.
All of these photographers were photographing from a personal point of view… for instance Clark is documenting his hardcore lifestyle in a similar way as to Goldin, their exposure to drugs, violence and sex make up very shocking images that depict their questionable upbringing and lifestyle and maybe revealing a lifestyle that we as the viewer are not aware of or familiar with. Carucci, is again photographing personal affairs but she is living or has lived a very different lifestyle, photographing her family, herself… this is a much more sweeter lifestyle, but is still an insight to how that person lives day to day.
We can easily compare and contrast the 3 photographer’s day to day lives.
Sally Mann photographed her family; her children and husband. Her husband had a disease that made his muscles deteriorate so she photographed this, and used materials that would decay over time to portray this… this is again a very personal and intimate project, although all of the subjects and models are different they are all form a personal view directly from the photographers.
The photographers are included in the photographs, we know they are there taking the image because we are seeing their life, their problems and experiences through their eyes.