Immediate Family Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Immediate Family
Book Review: Immediate Family by Sally Mann
Summary: 5 Stars
"I grew up around nude kids. I went nude whenever I could back then and have continued going nude at every opportunity throughout my life. When I leaf through 'Immediate Family', I see kids doing what I and the other kids did, and what naturist kids still do. I relate to the Mann kids as fellow human beings and fellow naturists." No, I didn't write that. I wish I did. That was the response I got from Jon McCreight of the Minnesota Naturists when I asked him for his comment. I don't know who I envy more, Mr. McCreight or Sally Mann's three children. Having grown up in a puritanical family, I have since envied children who are allowed to corporeally admire others and to be corporeally admired in return.Book Review: Mann Captures Childhood's Natural Beauty
Summary: 5 Stars
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 She wore nothing in several unpublished photos I've seen from the same period, like photos entitled "Venus After School", and "The Good Daughter".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the early 2000's, she was very succinct in stating that she saw nothing wrong in any of this, and even more previously unpublished photos were published for the first time, proving that Jessie could be the subject of her own book.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!Book Review: Maybe It's Just Me...
Summary: 2 Stars
I viewed this book only once in a store and decided it is not the one for me. Technically Sally Mann is a fine photographer who is obviously at the top of her game. Her subject matter had tremendous potential! But there is one glaring problem: the children do not appear to be enjoying childhood, but appear sad, psychologically disconnected, emotionally abused, rejected, of low self-esteem, unwilling participants as models, and physically battered. There is even one photo a boy with a broken nose and blood all over his chest.
I have seen my share of children get hurt while playing (I saw one small boy fall from a tree, snapping the bones in his forearm). What I saw that day was not a moment of artistic inspiration. Shock value, artistic interpretation of childhood, or whatever the thrust of this book, I cannot see myself ever owning or recommending it. It is too dark, depressing and menacing.
Personally I think plenty of imaginative artistic themes can be produced with happy children who are not busted up or who appear endangered.
I own a copy of the works of Salvador Dali; his art is certainly disturbing...but not like this. I can appreciate Dali's art or even Michael Parkes' and Jan Saudek's, but this publication is too real and too chilling, having grown up in an abusive household myself. I would very much love to see Sally Mann's other works, however, because she is a fine photographer and must surely have a more "light-hearted" production of children's photos. If not, then Sally Mann is best left to those who take pleasure in "dark" art.
I recommend Jock Sturges' work, RADIANT IDENTITIES, instead. Although it is very similar in many regards, his subjects appear to be willing participants, and he has chosen to display a wide variety of emotions, including happiness.
My complaint is not against the nudity. After all, we are born that way; it's just the overall negative imagery of this particular work. It is sad that so many people in our society think that to be imaginative and artful you must also be sinister or immoral. Nudity can be expressed artistically and positively, even with children (remember your own photos of splashing around in the tub or the rubber swimming pool as a toddler?) Even if it's not all up-beat and chipper it does not have to be so overwhelmingly depressing.
Book Review: Not Cool
Summary: 1 Stars
Sally Mann exploited her children for notoriety's sake. She knows it. Every time she is interviewed and questioned about these pictures, you can see the tension. Her body language confirms her regret. So-called liberal minds endorse the nude photographs, reassuring each other that it's OK to look. It's not. What child would say, "Let me take my clothes off, mommy, so you can take a picture of me. I'll be the most popular kid in school." Her success came at a heavy price, one that she won't have to pay...but her kids will.Book Review: Opinion vs. Review
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read a great portion of the reviews here and it seems that a lot of people are inserting their own opinions about the content of the book rather than opinions that contribute to reviewing it. If there's nudity, then mention it. If there's pictures of blood, mention it. But please don't give me your opinions about how you feel about those things because personally, I don't care.
These reviews are meant to help people who are buying this online. People who cannot look through the book themselves first. A review is helpful when a reviewer brings up stuff Amazon may have missed, or mentions who it might be be unnappropriate for and so on.
I don't care about what you think when you look at the photos. I don't care about how you feel about nuditity. I don't care whether you think the kids depicted had a unhappy childhood. I don't even care about how you think Sally Mann photographing her kids in the nude and then publishing it is wrong.
All I want, is to come out of reading these reviews and know if I want to purchase the book or not. NOT, how other people feel about this book because of what it covers. If you bought the book, tell me why. I don't mind someone saying they're a little uneasy about nudity but bought the book anyway. In that case, why? What other things drew you in, to finally buy it? Answers to things like this, are helpful.
So please, reviewers. This is not a place to gush out whatever. There are forums, fan sites, discussion sites, and book clubs for all of that.
Just give me an actual review.