Sally Mann, great article in the NYT

[Peter Lewin]

There is a glowing review of Sally Mann's just released memoir, "Hold Still," in today's NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/ar...life.html?_r=0 (I hope the link works for non-subscribers.) The magazine article which was the basis for this thread was an excerpt from the book.

Since we had something of a debate over the financial status of the Mann family (triggered by Sally's comment that their rural farm had no electricity), here is the relevant paragraph from the review: "Unsophisticated she [Sally] was not. Her parents were serious and lettered people. Her father, born into a wealthy Texas family, was a doctor (he’d gone to Choate) and an atheist with artistic leanings and a strong intellectual bent. Her Boston-born mother, who ran a bookstore and battled for progressive causes, was a Mayflower descendant." So much for any lingering thoughts about the "rural poor."

[Toyon]

My experience with young families who lived in deep rural areas, small farms, often without electricity has been that they were anything but hippies; they had little to no understanding of that social movement which was really urban.

Silly me, it finally dawned upon me that Mann's early choice of a large view camera was a necessary to a photographic artist in a nonelectric household.

Sally Mann's article is brilliant, honest, illuminating and hopefully rounds the sharp edges of criticism from socially naive urban critics.

How true! It all about the "urban" critics. We all know what that means (wink*). A brilliant, honest, illuminating comment.

[Larry Kellogg]

By the way, there is a review of Sally Mann's soon to be released memoir here: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/06...html?referrer=

The book is available for preorder from Amazon for $19.

[Tin Can]

By the way, there is a review of Sally Mann's soon to be released memoir here: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/06...html?referrer=

The book is available for preorder from Amazon.

I buy few books of this type. I will buy, gladly.

I also don't read 'reviews' too far as they often spoil the beans.

Thanks Larry!

[Larry Kellogg]

I agree with not reading too far into reviews. That's why I always liked Ebert's star system. I could get an idea of the quality of a film without spoiling the experience.

[matthew blais]

I'm reading this book now ("Hold Still") and about 70 pages into it. Well written, with a nice flow and humor. I'd definitely recommend it based on just my first several chapters.

There is a glowing review of Sally Mann's just released memoir, "Hold Still," in today's NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/ar...life.html?_r=0 (I hope the link works for non-subscribers.) The magazine article which was the basis for this thread was an excerpt from the book.

Since we had something of a debate over the financial status of the Mann family (triggered by Sally's comment that their rural farm had no electricity), here is the relevant paragraph from the review: "Unsophisticated she [Sally] was not. Her parents were serious and lettered people. Her father, born into a wealthy Texas family, was a doctor (he’d gone to Choate) and an atheist with artistic leanings and a strong intellectual bent. Her Boston-born mother, who ran a bookstore and battled for progressive causes, was a Mayflower descendant." So much for any lingering thoughts about the "rural poor."

[Jac@stafford.net]

I'm reading this book now ("Hold Still") and about 70 pages into it. Well written, with a nice flow and humor. I'd definitely recommend it based on just my first several chapters.

Agreed. Mann has guts, talent, literate sensibilities, everything I wish for in an author; she is a great photographer as well. My life pursuit of that pair of talents is complete.
.

[Richard Wasserman]

I found it a wonderful read—very well written, funny, insightful—all the good things. Ms Mann has had an interesting, very full, atypical life. And it has pictures!!!

[Drew Wiley]

I started a decent food fight over on APUG with the comment, "What the heck was she thinking, or WAS she even thinking?" That was in response to the recent
excellent Charlie Rose interview. She strikes me as distinctly eccentric, not just a free spirit. Maybe that comes with the territory of certain highly creative people.
Brilliant photographer. No doubt about that.

[Peter Lewin]

I just finished "Hold Still" as well, I thought it was an excellent, thought provoking book. Very roughly, about 1/3rd deals with photography and making art, 1/3 with her family history, and 1/3 about the South and slavery. It turns out that on her father's side her Texan great-great-grandfather or something like that became a millionaire by inventing a better cotton gin, and on her mother's side, she was a Mayflower descendant; her country-doctor father loved his Aston Martin. Hardly backwoods types!

I would debate Drew's description of her as eccentric, I think she is simply more introspective than most of us, and extremely affected by her Southern roots. While my personal experience with Sally consisted of one week at the Maine Photographic Workshops probably 30 something years ago, she struck me as someone with no artificial skin, i.e. she made herself available without the layers of protection that most of us maintain. I think this openness comes through in her book.