Sally Mann is one of the most prolific American photographers of our lifetime. She is challenging, thoughtful, eloquent, and frightening. She can make the roots of a tree look like a struggle between good and evil, and children seem as if they’re carved of marble.

Mann is often referred to as a controversial figure for her collection of photos titled Immediate Family. These works exemplify Mann’s ability to turn her everyday life into a cryptic collage of innocence and beautiful dirt. The photos are powerful, and they command a reaction. Mann maintains that she had no preconception of the enormous outrage the photos of her sometimes naked children would inevitably illicit. She claims no intention of stirring controversy to get attention. When you see Mann’s earnest demeanor, it’s hard to think otherwise.

The Immediate Family photo series seems to have broken a social mores. It teeters on an edge and forces you to look at the striking and statuesque figures of naked children. It is on this edge where you’re forced to decide, do I consider this art, or smut? Society says that we need to keep children clothed because pedophiles are lurking in the shadows. The argument for censorship of Mann’s work goes something like this… “Mann is a bad mother because she is giving perverts the opportunity to defile the precious innocence of her own children. Therefore we need to prohibit the viewing of these works.”

Something in these chivalrous cries of protection rings familiar. Ted Haggard, or Pastor Ted as he’s known, was (and paradoxically still is) vehemently opposed to homosexuality. People that speak with righteous indignation about the harms Mann is imposing on her family and herself seem frightened. This fear is akin to the teachings of the creation story; ignorance is utopia, knowledge is the original sin, and facing the unknown is evil. When you look at these photos of another person’s children, you must ask yourself… are these children doing anything wrong? Is Sally Mann doing anything wrong? Or is this only wrong if “I” the viewer look at these in the wrong way?

Mann has subsequently proven herself as an artist rather than a smut pusher. She has gone on to tackle subjects that have the potential to conjure revelation and reminiscence. From the slow but impending death of her husband and the posthumous record of her favorite dog to the documentation of Knoxville Tennessee’s Body Farm, she unabashedly faces the unknown with a vigor that should inspire even the meekest among us.

The 2006 documentary What Remains follows Mann through her life and discusses her career. The film is on Netflix, Blockbuster online, and should be at your local video store. What Remains documents a large portion of Mann’s work and process, as well as giving you an intimate look into the awkward confidence of one of America’s most prolific photographers. Time Magazine agrees, they named Sally Mann as the photographer of the year in 2001, saying about her:

“Few photographers of any time or place have matched Sally Mann’s steadiness of simple eyesight, her serene technical brilliance and the clearly communicated eloquence she derives from her subjects…”

More of Mann’s work

by: Scott Starrett