Sally Mann

The image of the young child in Ann Chwatsky’s set androgyny reminded  me of Sally Mann’s Immediate Family set. Sally Mann was a unknown photographer before she displayed her work Immediate Family in the Institute of Contempory Art in Philadelphia. To her the piece was a maternal collection of images of her children however others didn’t see it in this way.

The collection caused a media storm and much controversey. Others depicted it as child pornography and Sally Mann exploiting her children. The media attention and controversy was a reflection of the time which the images where produced. Was it the content that was shocking or was it the adult eye making us believe what we are told to believe by the media. Like Ann Chwatsky’s image the more you look at Sally Mann’s collection the more beauty you begin to see. To some these kind of images will always be frowned upon, to others who appreciate fine art you start to the lose sight of the nudity and begin to the see the naivity and beauty of the children themselves.