Dan's Thoughts

"Some Things are Private"

When I first saw Sally Mann's book, "Immediate Family," I was impressed by the openness and honesty of the work. And in some ways I was jealous. I both wanted to have been one of her kids living that kind of life, and as a parent raise my kids in a similar way. Having grown up in a family that has a similar attitude about family nudity, I really appreciated Mann's work. Her photos express a childhood innocence that seems to be sorely missing in our society. One thing I never saw was any controversy about her work, or any problems with it. Apparently it seems, there was a controversy. Some people saw it as exploitation and raised concerns over harm that she was doing to her children. Today her kids are grown and seem to be healthy and normal showing those concerns to be unfounded.

Well now a play has been produced that examines the controversy, and draws strongly from things said in the public record. Sally Mann was also consulted to help bring more of her own opinions to the story. The article from The Boston Globe (linkage below) gives a great explanation of the controversy, as well as the goal of the play. But one comment from Mann's daughter Jessie (now in her late 20's) captures perfectly what I saw in those photos:

Each of those photographs was her way of capturing, somehow - if not in a hug or a kiss or a comment - how much she cared about us. Each one of those photographs is an affirmation of love.

Nice. Read the story, see the play, buy the book.