Blog Eight - Mary Ellen Mark

 Mary Ellen Mark was born in 1940 and was best known for her portraiture and documentary photography. Her portraits often focused on those who were on the outside of society doing everything they could to make it day to day. Her style of photography was often recognized for the authenticity and rawness that could be portrayed through the photos.

 The authenticity of her photos caught the attention of famous magazines including Time and the Rolling Stone. While much of her time was spent on magazine and professional work, she made time to produce photo books on her own. One of her most popular works called streetwise contains arguably some of her best work.

 This book is described by Mark as "An intimate portrait of teenagers who survive as pimps, prostitutes, panhandlers and small-time drug dealers living on the streets of Seattle." One of my favorite pictures in the book is on the cover. The cover shows a young lady dressed in all black with a veil over her face. She has no expression and has her arms crossed making her look very disappointed. The all black dress in combination with her body language and facial expression is a great example of the mood they images in the book put viewers in.




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