Mary Ellen Mark

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 Mary has a very strategic way of capturing things that aren't normally seen as beautiful in society she exposes this and sheds light on it. a great example of this is her Ward 81 series where she spent 5 weeks living in the hospital with these women and documenting their experience in there. One thing Mary said in an interview was" I want to be a voice for un-famous people... I care about them, and I want people who see my photographs to also care. 

    I think her work of trying to intergrade with minority populations is fascinating. This woman psychiatric hospital is not the only place she shoot. Another one of her focuses is pediatric care. Understanding these populations is important to avoid stigma and add a sense to normality among all our differences. In the Global Pediatric Healthcare series her work at the Camp Reykjadalur , I have more of a connection with. 

    As a camp counselor seeing children smile and find a place to have fun is the most valuable thing in my opinion. This series showing children do various activities points that exact aspect I mention of never leaving anyone out. Mary is dedicated to her work as she mentions in an interview, " I'm kind of a purist who loves reality. I'm not an illustrator. ". She shows the things in life that people like to avoid. The things that they only think about when it makes them a better person. 


Gerhardt, Robert E., The Women on Ward 81. Blind Magazine (May2023) The Women on Ward 81 — Blind Magazine (blind-magazine.com)

Harris, RIchard L., PHOTOS: The Essence of Mary Ellen Mark, The Invisible Made Visible. The Picture Show ( November 2020) PHOTOS: The Essence Of Mary Ellen Mark, The Invisible Made Visible : The Picture Show : NPR

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