Over the years, she has received praise and criticism, but her artistry has always been undeniable. Her work possesses a haunting, timeless appeal yet retains the urgency and immediacy of having been shot this very moment. Some of her earlier series, particularly Immediate Family, created controversy for depicting child nudity \u2013 critics and Christian groups claimed that her portraits were exploitative and disturbing, while others championed her work as an unflinchingly honest account of family life and the American South.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite documenting her immediate surroundings, surrealist elements made their way into her pictures, leaving a unique mark as everyday moments are transformed and sometimes altered beyond recognition. Still, they always remain works of beauty. Even at times of social and political turmoil, Mann held true to this guiding principle, telling Dazed, \u201cI think there\u2019s a real benefit in creating something beautiful.\u201d <\/p>\n
In the run-up to the release of Art Work: On the Creative Life,\u00a0we talked with Sally Mann about\u00a0what\u2019s really needed to make it as an artist, the dangers of accumulating thousands of pictures in your camera roll, and why you should persevere with your artistic endeavours at all costs.<\/p>\n
Mann stresses how vital it is to build character and suffer for your art. You don\u2019t have to be a martyr, but work hard and roll with the punches. \u201cYou know, that\u2019s such a common trope… But speaking from my experience, I know that, had it all been handed to me, I wouldn\u2019t probably push myself as I do. I think character is maybe just another word for persistence and determination. Not having anything given to you tends to work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n She was 17 in the late 1960s when she decided she wanted to fully commit to photography, but she firmly believes that it doesn\u2019t matter when you start, only that you do. \u201cLook how old I am, and I\u2019m still committed to art,\u201d she tells Dazed. \u201cYou can start anytime. I was talking to a young artist yesterday. She\u2019s taking pictures for The Times, she\u2019s 32 and just starting out. My advice to her was the same thing I said in the book: Don\u2019t worry about your age, worry about your work. Don’t worry about how famous you\u2019re becoming or whether or not the work is getting out there; it\u2019ll get out there if it\u2019s good enough. Don\u2019t worry about the gallery or if you\u2019re getting published or any of that stuff. Just do the work, and it\u2019ll get done.\u201d<\/p>\n I see people scroll through their phone and they have like 6,000 images. The images are just spinning before your eyes. So I\u2019m just wondering what effect that\u2019s having on people in terms of discernment \u2013 Sally Mann<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In her chapter, The Hazards of Early Promise, Mann addresses the importance of hard work and how early success can be a hindrance to true artistic achievement. When you don\u2019t have everything given to you, this can force you to produce truly great work. \u201cEarly fame insidiously undercuts you; it makes you think it\u2019s too easy, and it isn\u2019t easy,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s never going to be easy, no matter how famous you get early on. I\u2019ve seen so many young artists start out with this big bang. And then they just fizzle, they realise that it\u2019s hard to sustain, they expect that kind of attention, and they\u2019re not there yet. There\u2019s always a sophomore effect after your first best-seller, and it can be hard to crawl your way out of that. I\u2019m basically saying you have to crawl your way out of fame in a certain sense. I think it can be really debilitating. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you do consistent, good work over a long period of time, you can\u2019t ignore it. Good work is undeniable. And it will be found because it\u2019s so rare. But it sure does help to have connections, oh god, yeah. That\u2019s why people go to art schools and work in galleries and go out to after-opening-dinners with important people and see if they can work their way into success.\u201d<\/p>\n Before post-postmodernism, artists like Sally Mann elevated documentary photography to the realms of fine art. With the rise of social media and mobile phones, we are documenting everything at all times, but she suggests this may be at the cost of developing our own artistry and skill. \u201cIt\u2019s maybe a little too soon to tell because it\u2019s such a new phenomenon, but I think there\u2019s a fatigue that takes hold when you see too many pictures. I think people take their phones and take pictures and never look at them again,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI just have a few pictures on my phone, but I see people scroll through their phone and they have like 6,000 images. The images are just spinning before your eyes. So I\u2019m just wondering what effect that\u2019s having on people in terms of discernment.<\/p>\n \u201cI use my phone sometimes for taking a picture to remind me to go back and take a real picture. But what I\u2019ve seen people do is just take thousands and thousands of pictures, and I have this theory that pictures kind of destroy your actual memory. This is a neurologically sound concept: what happens to your actual memory when you have so many pictures? Does it still work? Because when you ask somebody, did they have fun at the beach? What did they see? Where did they go? They immediately reach for their phone. I think it probably hinders their descriptive ability as well as their imaginative one.\u201d<\/p>\n If you want to be an artist, you don\u2019t give up. There\u2019s no time limit on artistic ambition. And I don\u2019t mean fame, I mean the never-ending desire to make another good piece of work \u2013 Sally Mann<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Famous for its hustle culture, it can be hard to sustain oneself in the US if you\u2019re trying to make it as an artist, especially if you\u2019re not a part of the wealthier demographic. But Mann is unequivocal about perseverance. \u201cOh, you should never call it quits. If you want to be an artist, you don\u2019t give up,\u201d she insists. \u201cMaybe you take another job or you change the work you\u2019re doing or something, but never ever quit. There\u2019s no time limit on artistic ambition. I don\u2019t mean fame, I mean the never-ending desire to make another good piece of work. I take a picture that\u2019s good or write a good paragraph and I have this moment of elation. Then, almost instantly, I have this crashing sense \u2013 almost like a sort of despair, like an inoculation. If you have that artistic temperament, you\u2019re never gonna quit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>
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Sally Mann, Whip, Then GiftCopyright \u00a9 Sally Mann<\/p>\n\n
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Sally Mann, Xerxes Wept Proud FleshCopyright \u00a9 Sally Mann<\/p>\n\n
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Sally Man, Sorry GameCopyright \u00a9 Sally Mann<\/p>\n