Photo History

  S A L L Y M A N N was born in 1951 in Lexington, Virginia, where she continues to live and work. She received a BA from Hollins College in 1974, and an MA in writing from the same school in 1975. Her early series of photographs of her three children and husband resulted in a series called “Immediate Family.” In her recent series of landscapes of Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, and Georgia, Mann has stated that she “wanted to go right into the heart of the deep dark South.” Using damaged lenses and a camera that requires the artist to use her hand as a shutter, these photographs are marked by the scratches, light leaks, and shifts in focus that were part of the photographic process as it developed during the 19th century. Mann has won numerous awards, including Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. Her books of photographs include “Immediate Family,” “At Twelve: Portraits of Young Women;” and “Mother Land: Recent Landscapes of Georgia and Virginia.” Her photographs are in the permanent collections of many museums, including The Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

"When the good pictures come, we hope they tell truths, but truths "told slant," just as Emily Dickinson commanded. We are spinning a story of what it is to grow up. It is a complicated story and sometimes we try to take on the grand themes: anger, love, death, sensuality, and beauty. But we tell it without fear and without shame."

ARTIST 
Sally  Mann (American, b. 1951)

TITLE
The Last Time Emmett Modeled Nude

DATE
1987

MEDIUM
Gelatin silver print

SIZE
19-3/4 x 23-5/8 in.

CREDIT LINE
Museum Purchase

D E S C R I B E Emmett was ten when he posed for his mother in The Last Time Emmett Modeled Nude. He is pushing against the lazy current of a river. It’s a familiar place where Mann herself grew up, and now she watches her own children playing out their dreams in concert with her camera. Emmett’s body cuts into the stillness of the moving water. Behind him the trees and sky are reflected in the water like a solid universe swirling about his head; its illusionistic firmness subverts the verity of the real trees on the horizon. Neither world is absolute for a young boy at such a transitional moment in his life.

A N A L Y Z E The focal point of this photograph is the middle ground. The light only appears on young Emmett's face. The layout works well for this photograph because the boy is the focus yet there are other factors in the photo to keep the audiences attention. This photo is strictly black and white, which makes the photo more interesting than if it was natural color. The manipulation of the color makes the photo more interesting as well as directing your attention. The emotional impact of this photo is immense. 

I N T E R P R E T The artist is trying to convey emotion through a photo. whether your initial reaction be negative or positive, Sally mann wanted to convey a feeling of something ending, it being the last nude shot and the closing of Emmett's childhood. This photo is seen by a dock, as if he has departed from hi last voyage. 

J U D G E I chose this photo because it caught my eye and i found it interesting. I think this work was definitely successful, because the photo is famous and well known. Mann's aesthetic and style are very present in this photo. Anyone would automatically know that this was a Mann photo. This photo has the ability to harness your interest and keep it. Some people wonder if it is child pornography, so there is controversy among the Mann collection. I would change the lighting in this photo, i think that just a tab bit more light would enhance the photo. Other than that i really love this photo.