Renowned photographer Sally Mann, now 74, continues to captivate audiences with her unflinching honesty and artistic boldness. Speaking from her beloved farm in Lexington, Virginia, Mann displays the same openness that has defined both her controversial photography career and her recent venture into writing. Her willingness to share intimate stories and personal vulnerabilities has made her one of the most influential photographers working today.
Born in Lexington in 1951, Mann describes herself as having been a "near-feral child" in a bohemian family where she barely wore clothes until age five. Her father, a country doctor, gave her first camera, and she discovered her passion early, emerging from the school darkroom "ecstatic with the results." This early enthusiasm would eventually build into a respectable following for her atmospheric photographs that capture the essence of the American South.
Mann's career took a dramatic turn in 1992 with the release of her third photo book, "Immediate Family." The collection featured beautiful black-and-white images of life with her husband Larry and their three young children on their farm. While the photos captured family moments with "ethereal transcendence, loving intimacy and bracing intrusiveness," they also thrust Mann into the center of America's culture wars. The intimate nature of the photographs, including images like "The Perfect Tomato" showing her daughter Jessie dancing naked on a picnic table, sparked intense controversy.
The backlash was severe and personal. Mann faced accusations of being an unfit mother and was branded a child pornographer by critics. She was excoriated in the New York Times and even stalked by disturbed individuals. The controversy continues today, with five of her photographs, including "The Perfect Tomato," recently seized by police at an exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, after catching the attention of religious conservatives.
Despite the criticism, Mann refuses to back down from her artistic vision. "What's the risk of being honest?" she asks, "other than ridicule, which I'm used to." However, she acknowledges that she probably wouldn't release "Immediate Family" today due to how the internet has changed privacy and accessibility. "My family pictures were an unanticipated risk, in that they made people think that they knew us," she explains. "I don't think the family pictures would have been prudent going out in the world now, because there's so much access to people."
In 2015, Mann surprised many by publishing her memoir "Hold Still," an extremely candid book that delved into family history, personal diaries, letters, and photographs. The memoir explored the dark history of racism in the American South and her family's background of poverty and death. It included startling images of personal vulnerability, including a photo Mann orchestrated during the birth of her third child. The book was highly acclaimed and labeled "the autobiography of the year."
The transition from photography to writing wasn't easy for Mann, despite having a master's degree in creative writing. "Switching from being a photographer to writing a book felt a little risky to me," she admits. "I thought I was going to get humiliated." She spent five years on the memoir and was thrilled when it was well received, though she says she would have been "gutted" if it hadn't gotten attention.
Mann hasn't abandoned photography during her writing journey. Her eerie black-and-white landscapes of the American South were collected in "Deep South" (2005) and "Southern Landscape" (2013). She also documented her husband Larry's battle with muscular dystrophy in the intimate 2009 series "Proud Flesh," which she described as being "like one big caress." "I get this little frisson of excitement every time I pick up those cameras and head out to take pictures," she says. "I like risk. I couldn't take the same pictures over and over again."
Now, ten years after her memoir, Mann is releasing "Art Work," a new book offering advice to budding artists. She describes it as "a how not-to, rather than a how-to" in her characteristic deadpan, self-deprecating manner. Like her memoir, the book contains personal stories that are often humiliating and vulnerable. "There were so many stories I thought of after Hold Still," she explains. "This new book seems to be all the stories I tell at dinner parties, stories that just stick around in my head that I think are funny."
Some stories in "Art Work" seem almost too extraordinary to be true. In one tale, a young Mann boldly sits next to a well-dressed stranger on a plane in the early 1970s, only to discover he's Ronald Winston, son of jewelry magnate Harry Winston, who gives her the key to his Manhattan mansion. Another chapter, aptly titled "Distraction," recounts her experience renting a trailer to armed troublemakers, which eventually requires a bomb squad and ends with the trailer being demolished.
While these stories might seem tangential to artistic advice, Mann insists they serve a purpose. "It seemed a bit of a stretch at first, but I thought it was really important for people to know that you can lie fallow for a period while your mind processes," she explains. She believes these periods of "enforced fallowness" can reinvigorate an artist's desire to return to work.
Despite what might appear to be a charmed life, Mann emphasizes the hard work behind her success. From her teenage years, she hustled for every photographic opportunity, and she keeps folders of rejection letters on her computer hard drive. Today, she still lives on her 45-acre farm, spending significant time maintaining the land while pursuing her art. "I spend enormous amounts of time running a weed eater, or taking my chainsaw and cutting trees off my trails," she details. "I'm a worker, I'm a peasant, I'm really strong, I can do almost anything."
Currently, Mann is working on two new photography projects that represent significant departures from her established methods. One explores digital photography, a medium she's never fully embraced before, while the other uses an archaic form of film rarely employed today. This willingness to experiment reflects her ongoing commitment to artistic growth and challenge.
Mann's favorite piece of advice for young artists didn't make it into "Art Work," but she's eager to share it: "Always have another body of work waiting in the wings that you're equally excited about." She explains that it's easy to get discouraged after finishing a project, thinking you'll never create anything as good again. This restlessness keeps her moving forward, always finding new subjects and challenges.
Even now, Mann continues to think of additions to her completed book, recently suggesting four new items to her editor, only to be told the book was already printed and shipping. True to form, when asked if there's anything else she wants to add, Mann declares, "I never hold anything back." "Art Work: On the Creative Life" by Sally Mann is published by Particular Books on September 18.
