Immediate Family (Hardcover)

by Sally Mann (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"[Mann's photographs] suggest that the camera is adept at depicting the desires of the subconscious as it is in rendering the shapes of everyday life."--Andy Grundberg, the New York Times

"These are photographs of my children. . . . Many of these pictures are intimate, some are fictions and some are fantastic, but most are of ordinary things every mother has seen. I take pictures when they are bloodied or sick or naked or angry. They dress up, they pout and posture, they paint their bodies, they dive like otters in the dark river."--Sally Mann, from the Introduction

"[Sally Mann] makes pictures of children--luminously beautiful black-and-white images of mysteriously elfin chidren around [her] rural home in Lexington, Virginia. These are riveting, enigmatic narrative images."--Ken Johnson, Art in America

"Her photographs are imbued with a seductive, surreal Southern sensibility. Like the writers Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, or William Faulkner, she has a great potential for telling stories. Her work pulls you in--it's very beguiling."--Davis Pratt, as quoted in the Boston Globe

"Sally Mann continues to probe the intimate life of her family and come up with startling, disquieting revelations. Mann's extraordinary picture of her nude daughter suspended like a shimmering white fish on a porch with unconcerned adults resonates in your mind like a dream."--Vince Aletti, the Village Voice
-- Review

Review

"[Mann's photographs] suggest that the camera is adept at depicting the desires of the subconscious as it is in rendering the shapes of everyday life."--Andy Grundberg, the New York Times

"These are photographs of my children. . . . Many of these pictures are intimate, some are fictions and some are fantastic, but most are of ordinary things every mother has seen. I take pictures when they are bloodied or sick or naked or angry. They dress up, they pout and posture, they paint their bodies, they dive like otters in the dark river."--Sally Mann, from the Introduction

"[Sally Mann] makes pictures of children--luminously beautiful black-and-white images of mysteriously elfin chidren around [her] rural home in Lexington, Virginia. These are riveting, enigmatic narrative images."--Ken Johnson, Art in America

"Her photographs are imbued with a seductive, surreal Southern sensibility. Like the writers Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, or William Faulkner, she has a great potential for telling stories. Her work pulls you in--it's very beguiling."--Davis Pratt, as quoted in the Boston Globe

"Sally Mann continues to probe the intimate life of her family and come up with startling, disquieting revelations. Mann's extraordinary picture of her nude daughter suspended like a shimmering white fish on a porch with unconcerned adults resonates in your mind like a dream."--Vince Aletti, the Village Voice

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 88 pages
• Publisher: Aperture (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893815187
• ISBN-13: 978-0893815189
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #762,036 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #8 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( M-O ) > Mann, Sally
  #60 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Subjects > Children

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars seminal work, May 24, 2005

By	J. Klukas - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This collection of works is undoubtedly a seminal work for contemporary fine art photography. Sally Mann's print work is without a doubt some of the most competant and breathtaking I have ever seen. Her scenes are rich with subtle tones and almost ethereal luminance that captivates the viewer. I would not be surprised if she is remembered as much for her printing as she is for the controversial subject matter.

The book deals with childhood in a very honest unashamed way. This is problematic for some viewers who think that pictures with children should only portray their happiest moments. This subject matter may not be suitable for the rigid-minded and certainly will be unpleasant for those who believe children, unlike the rest of humanity, can only be presented as cheerful little sprites. The book challanges the viewer and brings up issues of how our cultures representations of female sexuality are interpreted and acted out by young girls. Beyond that it refuses to entertain the idea that nudity in children is necesarily harmful and exploitative. These issues are broached in a beautiful, delicate way. The lives of her children are portrayed honestly and respectfully as she sees them through her lens.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, nostalgic, startlingly honest, July 19, 1998

By A Customer

Sally Mann's "Immediate Family" is startling when you first open it. Not because the children who are so often her subjects are nude much of the time, but because the scenes immediately draw you in and hold you like a feather gripped by a dirty-faced wild child. I grew up in rural Tennessee, and though I didn't have the freedom of the Mann children in some ways,I feel an affinity with them unlike any other children I've seen in these kinds of collections and was instantly transported back to my early years. My favorite pictures are "Crossed Sticks", which perfectly depicts the energy and vitality of childhood, and "Virginia at 3", which inspires both curiosity and empathy in me whenever I see it. I'm glad someone like Sally Mann is out there to portray childhood honestly and fearlessly, and I will treasure this book.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mann Captures Childhood's Natural Beauty, September 26, 2006

By	lover of young beauty "lover of young beauty" (Southern Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Immediate Family (Paperback)

It's hard to see why there has been such a legal fuss over the photos contained herein, especially the luminous photos of older daughter Jessie, who was interviewed in the 1993 documentary "Blood Ties", which showed other photos not in the book [alas]. I only hope Mann has a chance to have published other photos of her children from this period, as well as some feom the 4 or 5 years immediately after [from about 1990 to 1995]. In the documentary, daughter Jessie was completely relaxed about all of the fuss, and seemed relaxed about being photographed without any clothes on in several photos. She wore nothing in several unpublished photos I've seen from the same period, like photos entitled "Venus After School", and "The Good Daughter". In an Aperture magazine retrospective on her from the early 2000's, she was very succinct in stating that she saw nothing wrong in any of this, and even more previously unpublished photos were published for the first time, proving that Jessie could be the subject of her own book. Here's hoping! This book is not to be missed! Don't let the controversy scare you away, before it's out of print for good!