Lecture - Conversations with Sally Mann

I feel fortunate to have had the honor to see Sally Mann at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  The presentation was in the form of a conversation between a panel and Sally Mann, rather than the typical artist presentation.  The panel included leading photography scholars Vince Aletti of the New Yorker and Brain Wallis from the International Center of Photography. Unfortunately, the flight which Melissa Harris of Aperture Magazine was taking was delayed and she didn’t make it. Initially they introduced Sally Mann and talked about connections to other artists, particularly in relation to the controversial nature of Mann’s work.  Mann’s earlier works which involved her children were often argued to be pornographic.  Although still controversial to some people, on a whole people have seemed to get past this, on the basis that Mann was the mother of the children and had seen them in all stages of life. Besides the nudity, there is nothing really pornographic about the images.  The main themes of her work seem to be sexuality, mortality, and vulnerability.  The talk was presented in connection with a collection of her works titled “Sally Mann The Flesh and The Spirit.” The collection featured her newest work, pictures of herself and her husband which comment on  themes of mortality and vulnerability.   It was also mentioned that the pictures of her husband were interesting from the standpoint of the human gaze on the male, which is something not usually touched upon in photography.  One thing that really struck me was just how humble a person Mann really was.  She said making a perfect print with a 8x10 format camera was really difficult, and she was just lazy, so that’s why she used equipment that didn’t function perfectly.   I don’t think this is really true.  I think she uses methods that will enhance her projects' themes. One thing that I thought was interesting was her take on when to release projects and how to never lose motivation.  She said, “Never put out a body of  work until you are one-third of the way into a new body of work.”  She also mentioned that you should have more than one project going at the same time, in case you get bored with one of the projects.  That was interesting to me in relation to my own project, because I’m trying to work on two different projects now and have ideas for other projects as well.  I think this helps me to keep my ideas fresh and allows me to back off from one project if I get bored with it and work with the other.  Ms. Mann said that she draws the line on her work when dignity is lost.  I think that it is important to know when to stop and draw the line, because there are some things which, ethically, should never be photographed.

All Images © Sally Mann

Alexandre Singh - Questions / Experience

Alexandre Singh was by far the best lecture that I have ever attended at VCU. The fact that he actually gave a performance to start the lecture not only struct me as being unique, but an intellectually engaging and useful way to spend my time.  In his presentation he spoke about the  thought process that is associated with a dream state or intoxicated state of the mind.  I would describe his work as intellectual, story-telling, and performance art.  At first I was having a lot of trouble following because I was frantically trying to take notes about the lecture. When I stopped taking notes and just sat back and tried to take in the whole presentation I found it was a-lot more enjoyable.  The interesting thing about his performance was how there would be stories inside stories inside stories.  Many times through the lecture he would reference pop culture.  At one point he referenced the movie "Inception" in relation to the planting of ideas within dreams and how the mind works. He talked about many types of mental associations, including linear, cross-linear and tangential.  I really had a sparked interest in learning about the mental process in relation to dreams after his presentation.  Besides his lecture presentation, he has a very interesting body of work.  The project which probably had the most relation to mine was the “School of Objects Criticized.”   In this project he had selected many objects to display in a gallery setting. All were named and personified via a voice over and spotlighting.  Watching a movie of people engaging with the objects who were talking about the 20th century art was certainly interesting.  One thing that was mentioned on the web as well during his speech was his interest in making a full length film.  He didn’t really stress that he was getting closer to actually doing it, but that is his goal and by doing each project he learns something and gets closer.  He said the audiences role in relationship to his lecture isn’t really important; however, he hopes that he is educating people about how the brain operates.  He did say that he makes art for himself first and everyone else second.  This is really how it should be. if you are not happy with the work but everyone likes it,  then I personally feel you are failing as an artist. Your art should reflect something about you.

Questions - 
Do you think your progressing near making a full length film?
What do you think the audiences roll is in relation to your work?