Author Archive
Group work
As a group we were looking at the different types and degrees Sally Mann uses in her photograph for Emmett, Jessie and Virginia. One type used is hypertextuality, as we were looking at the different medias that could have given Sally Mann the inspiration to produce her pictures of her children. We knew that family means a lot of Sally Mann and she likes using the same style camera as her father used when he produced his photographs. We also looked at a picture of a homeless Irish man photographed by Don McCullin.
This is a black and white picture of a close up shot of a homeless Irish man. From looking at the picture you can see that the fix expression on his face with his eye contact with the camera makes the viewer wants to feel for the man. He is looking straight at the camera the same as Sally Mann’s children in her photograph, but the viewer has different emotions when looking at both of the pictures. Whereas the children look confidant and strong the man looks sad and lonely.
The man also looks in focus whereas the background seems out of focus, which makes the viewer want to know where the location is. This effect is also used in the Sally Mann photograph of her children with the use of the background being out of focus, but the viewer doesn’t have that sense of wanting to know where the children are, but what their location looks like. As the use of the out of focus effects makes the picture on a whole seem like a dream world location.
David Bailey
Sally Mann could have got some of her inspiration by looking at David Bailey’s picture of a lady in the nude who looks like she is boxing. In the photograph the lady looks strong with the actions of the hands being in a boxing position, almost like she is ready to have a fight with someone. The viewer on the other hand never finds out who the model is readdy to fight or why she is in that position. The picture is also in black and white the same as the series of Sally Mann’s photographs, with the light highlighting one side of the models face, which is almost the same in the picture of Sally Mann’s children. The picture is called Jane Birkin which is the models name in the by David Bailey, and it was created in 1969.
Accessed on the 22nd November
Nudity
Some people feel that as the children are in the nude they see the pictures as ‘child pornography’, and some other people feel that the series of pictures of the children are ‘championed’. When Sally Mann was a young girl she used to walk to school in bare foot. This connotes how she see herself with nature, which could relate with her pictures of her children being in the nude. In the picture with the three children both girls have their hair down, this represents the nature look and the way they haven’t got any clothes no helps build on once theme of nature. Also in the picture Sally Mann’s son Emmett is only semi naked as he has his trousers on, this is hard to view as it is a mid shot of the children.
http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/?page=article&article_id=875&catID=7
Accessed on the 22nd November
The Wet Bed
http://www.sfmoma.org/images/artwork/medium/91.319_01_d03.jpg
Accessed on the 22nd November
This is the picture of Virginia in her bed, if you look closely you can notice that she has wet the bed, connoting the title of the picture ‘The Wet Bed’. From looking at both of the picture’s of Sally Mann and Robin Schwartz ,they have used similar lighting with the way the light highlights the sides of both of the grils faces. Also both of the girls are laying in the middel of the bed, and out of their blankets, with Sally Mann’s daugther still in a deep sleep and Robin Schwartz’s daugther looking away from the camera.
Robin Schwartz
Sally Mann isn’t the only photographer that takes pictures of her children, Robin Schwartz has also taken a range of pictures of her children. One with her daughter lying on her bed, this is like the picture of Sally Mann’s daughter Virginia when she wet the bed. However Sally Mann couldn’t have got her inspiration from Robin Schwartz photographs of her children as they were created in 2008, and Sally Mann’s were created in 1985 to 1991.
http://robinschwartz.net/ accessed on the 22nd November
http://www.aperture.org/exposures/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/schwartz.jpg
accessed on the 22nd November
Inspiration
Family means a lot of Sally Mann this is clearly connoted by her pictures of her family. An example of hypertextuality is how Sally Mann’s father was also a photographer and she would always you at his work. She always wanted to use the same effects, this is a main reason why her pictures are in black and white, as she would use the same style camera as her father would have used. This was the first roll-film box camera. An example of how the viewer can connote the messages for Sally Mann taking pictures of her family, this is seen by a video clip on youtube. Sally Mann say’s on the clip called what Remains: The life and work of Sally Mann, ‘the things that are close to you are the things you can photograph the best, and unless you photograph what you love your not know make good art’. This connotes how Sally Mann can relate to her family as her art and how special it makes her feel to takes pictures of them and to show the world her family and be proud of her family. This also relates back to the pictures how the children good strong and proud as they stand there all together.
accessed on the 22nd November
Sally Mann
Immediate Family
PHAIDON
Afterword by Reynolds Price
Published in the U.K. in 1992
Peter Pan
http://www.billybear4kids.com/Movie/PETER_PAN_PE-Photo_04.jpg
Accessed on the 22nd of November
Accessed on the 22nd November
An example of hypotextuality from types for Sally Mann’s picture could be from the film Peter Pan. By looking at the characters of ‘The lost boys’. When the boys first come out of their hut they all stand together, this looks like the picture of Sally Mann’s children. The way the three are all standing tightly together, and how the location in the background is out of focus, so the children are acting powerful. Also looking at the storyline of Peter Pan with the whole idea of the ‘Wendy bird’, and how Wendy is represented as this strong female. This relates back to the picture of Sally Mann’s children with the youngest daughter being this strong character and slightly in front of her siblings. In the picture of ‘The lost boys’ the boys are all lined up , this connotes how they feel that they are being strong and confidant. This relates back to the picture of Sally Mann’s children and how all three of the children are together, making them strong. The part in the film that looks and relates the most to the picture of Sally Mann’s children is seen in the part where the lost boys have just knocked Wendy out of the sky, this is seen at 2:01 in the film, where the boys feel proud and strong in front of Peter.
http:www.billybear4kids.com/movie/PETER_PAN_PE-Photo_04.jpg
accessed 18th November
I have been looking at the picture of Sally Mann’s children Emmett, Jessie and Virginia, and focusing on the messages behind the picture. I first started off by asking a range of questions that I wanted to find out about the picture, such as who were the three children in the picture. Also in the first week i found out the that children in the picture was Sally Mann’s the photographers, and that the name of the photograph was the names of the three children. In the second week i was looking in-depth at the picture and focusing how the children were in focus and how the background was out of focus. I also found out that Sally Mann’s youngest daughter Virginia was named after her mother, and Sally Mann has also taken a range of pictures of the two of them together. This was in the series of photographs from ‘Immediate family’, where the picture of the three children comes from.
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