Sally Mann

I am a long-time fan of Sally Mann, so I was pleased to happen on a link at Photrio to a video of an appearance she made at the Rhode Island School of Design.  She spoke briefly about her latest book, Art Work: On the Creative Life, and she then answered questions from a panel of three RISD teachers.  Mann talked about her long career and her photographic style and techniques, mostly with large format gear.

Mann did a nice job of explaining her creative process.  She admitted that she really often only has a vague idea initially about where her efforts will take her, relying on the pictures she makes to reveal a path toward a theme. She complimented her long-time editor in assembling her projects into book form.

I was particularly interested in seeing that her photography, even though having a spontaneous look, really depends on a lot of staging and direction.  I have three of her books, so I'm a little surprised that I was not more consciously aware of that aspect of her work earlier.  Given the fact that Mann has mostly used cumbersome large format cameras, it is really inevitable that some directorial work is required to produce her images.

I have expressed some distaste for staged work before, most recently in regard to a big show at the Albuquerque Museum of the work of Cara Romero.  I think the difference is that Mann's staging contributes to bringing out the fundamental character and experiences of her subjects, while Romero's elaborately staged and oversized images seem to me to be contrived and lacking in a clear meaning.

Mann's earlier work focused on her family, but she says she now makes no pictures of people and is only doing landscapes. She expressed some positive feelings about the possibilities of digital and said she currently often uses a small Leica digital camera.  At the same time, she also is clearly excited about the opportunity to explore experimental darkroom  techniques such as solarization.