mary ellen mark artist research
Artist Research – Mary Ellen Mark
Mary Ellen Mark was born was born in 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She showed great interest in the visual arts from a young age and attended the University of Philadelphia, where she graduated with a Master’s Degree in photojournalism (Habert). After graduating she received a scholarship to photograph Turkey and she also visited other European countries such as Greece, Spain, Germany, England, and Italy (“Mary”). In 1967, Mark moved to New York and began to explore her photography focus of humanism and experiences in diverse cultures (“Mary”). The social issues that caught Mark’s eye the most after moving to New York were the demonstrations against the Vietnam War, the women’s liberation movement, and transvestite culture (Habert). Her great interest with people “on the edges…who haven’t had the best breaks in society” (Habert) lead Mark to even immerse herself in the lives of the mentally ill by admitting herself into asylum Ward 81 and photograph how those who are mentally ill live on a day-to-day basis (“Photo”). Mark also attempted to taste a bite of life as a broken person by often traveling to India for three months at a time and photographing human suffering, whether it was from illness or deformity (“Photo”). These experiences of placing herself in different environments as well as her noticing the humanity in those who are often shunned by society are the largest inspirations for Mark especially since the events affected her directly.
The photographs Mark took while admitted into asylum Ward 81 were collected into one photography group and named simply as a number out of 97 (also called “300B-046-031” on her website). Number 51 out of 97 is a canid photo of a girl in a floral patterned dress who is staring at herself in a mirror. The photograph is in black and white most likely due to the difficultly of color photography during the time it was taken; however, the lack of color leads to less distractions and allows
Mary Ellen Mark was born was born in 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She showed great interest in the visual arts from a young age and attended the University of Philadelphia, where she graduated with a Master’s Degree in photojournalism (Habert). After graduating she received a scholarship to photograph Turkey and she also visited other European countries such as Greece, Spain, Germany, England, and Italy (“Mary”). In 1967, Mark moved to New York and began to explore her photography focus of humanism and experiences in diverse cultures (“Mary”). The social issues that caught Mark’s eye the most after moving to New York were the demonstrations against the Vietnam War, the women’s liberation movement, and transvestite culture (Habert). Her great interest with people “on the edges…who haven’t had the best breaks in society” (Habert) lead Mark to even immerse herself in the lives of the mentally ill by admitting herself into asylum Ward 81 and photograph how those who are mentally ill live on a day-to-day basis (“Photo”). Mark also attempted to taste a bite of life as a broken person by often traveling to India for three months at a time and photographing human suffering, whether it was from illness or deformity (“Photo”). These experiences of placing herself in different environments as well as her noticing the humanity in those who are often shunned by society are the largest inspirations for Mark especially since the events affected her directly.
The photographs Mark took while admitted into asylum Ward 81 were collected into one photography group and named simply as a number out of 97 (also called “300B-046-031” on her website). Number 51 out of 97 is a canid photo of a girl in a floral patterned dress who is staring at herself in a mirror. The photograph is in black and white most likely due to the difficultly of color photography during the time it was taken; however, the lack of color leads to less distractions and allows